Stay With Me
by Merrypsimon
Summary: A Creature Feature band fic. Erik meets Curtis, who instantly has a crush him. As thier lives unfold, they want to know if they're really right for each other.


Erik walked along side the street with his headphones blaring. Loud music. While he didn't listen to much of it, It was still perfect for tuning out the world at the best of times.

_Und der Haifisch, der hat traenen. Und die laufen vom Gesicht. Doch der Haifisch lebt im wasser. So die Traenen sieht man nicht.. _

_And the shark, it has tears, And they run down it's face. But the shark lives in the water, So no one sees it's tears.._

It was damp out, with promises of a downpour of rain. His favorite kind of weather. He watched the cars pass by quickly, each one of the drivers giving him a weird look. He was sure of it. But that never stopped him from going on walks before. As expected, it soon began to rain. Freezing rain. _Good. _Warm rain just wasn't the same. He continued his walk as more cars passed him. He liked taking his walks. They were his escape when life got bad. And lately, it had. Despite the face he liked the walks, they were also dangerous too. He didn't think about it at first, but once he started having bad insomnia, he realized it was hard to take his walks when he was so tired he couldn't see straight.

Curtis was driving a bit recklessly. But he didn't mind, and the rain gave him a reason to do so. As he drove he saw a younger man walking down the street. He was getting drenched by the rain. He couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. So he wildly pulled out of the lane and into a parking lot closet to the guy. Erik lifted his head up as he saw Curtis pull the reckless act,

"Idiot" he murmured. As he got closer to the beat up blue car, he stopped walking, and waited for the car to move. But it didn't. Instead, the window started rolling down. Erik turned his iPod on and stopped the song. Then he took his headphones off.

"Hey!" Curtis yelled over the rain. Erik sarcastically waved at him. This guy was seriously killing whatever mood he had. "You Need a ride?" the guy asked. Erik shook his head. "But it's pouring outside!" Curtis retaliated. Erik simply shrugged. "Can I give you a lift, please?" Curtis asked. Erik looked at the guy in the car nervously. He was wearing a black t-shirt that had two spoons on it in the shape of an X with the words "Cereal Killer" below it. His pants were pinstriped, and he was wearing a plain pair of Black Chuck Taylor's. He had large, almost mutton chop like sideburns, which made Erik jealous. And he had a mop of messy black hair. "Please?" the guy asked once more. Erik shrugged and rubbed his arm.

"Yeah…Al…Alright" he said. Curtis popped the door open and patted the passenger seat.

"Don't worry about getting the seat wet" He said, almost reading Erik's mind. Erik nodded and stepped into the car. He sat down carefully. The warm heat of the car sending cold chills throughout his body. He shut the door quickly. Curtis turned to him and held out a hand.

"Curtis" he said with a smile. Erik looked at Curtis's hand for a moment before he offered his hand to the other.

"Erik" he said quietly.

"Erik?" Curtis repeated. Erik nodded.

"Well, alright then Erik. Where 'ya headed?" Curtis asked as he pulled the car back onto the street. Erik shook his head.

"No where" he responded. Curtis looked at him confused. "Roommates…Kicked me out" Erik explained flatly. Curtis looked at him once more.

"So let me get this straight. You're walking out in the freezing rain for whatever reason, So now you're soaked, and you don't have anywhere to go?" Curtis asked. Erik nodded. "Well…Oh-Okay then" Curtis said. He couldn't help but feel even worse for the guy then he did before. Erik looked at Curtis oddly but didn't speak. He stared out the window. His eyes were getting heavier with each passing car. He wanted to keep them open, keep out the nightmares, but it didn't last, and He was fast asleep.

Erik woke a little while later. The car was no longer moving. He looked out the window. It was still raining, but they were at an apartment complex.

"Wha…" Erik trailed off. Curtis turned to him as he took the keys out of the ignition.

"Hey there sleepy" he laughed. Erik rubbed his eyes. "Mind helping me carry this stuff?" Curtis asked as he opened the car's trunk. Erik tiredly nodded and got out of the car and helped Curtis with the groceries. Once they were done, Curtis thanked him for the help and Erik felt it was time he was no longer welcome.

"Th-thanks for the ride" Erik said quietly as he walked over to the door. Curtis saw him and spoke up.

"Hey. Where' you going?"

"No where" Erik replied quietly, the cold doorknob in his slender fingers.

"Then take your shoes off. Stay awhile" Curtis said kindly. Erik shook his head.

"I….I should leave…" he said. He always felt unwelcome. Curtis stopped unpacking the groceries and walked over to Erik.

"You said you didn't have a place to stay, right?" Curtis asked. Erik nodded.

"Now you do" Curtis said. Erik looked at him confused.

"I've got a spare room here, You're welcome to it. If you have any stuff at your old place, I can drive you there so you can pick it up" Curtis offered. Erik rubbed his arm nervously.

"I…I can't" Erik whispered. Curtis looked at him. He felt bad. He couldn't just let him leave. The poor guy was still in sopping wet clothes. Curtis walked closer to the door and stood in front of it.

"Will you at least let me give you some dry clothes? It seems like the last thing you need it to catch the flu" he said. Erik looked himself over. His black t-shirt with the white Ouija board was soaked, and his pants not only soaked, but they were also muddy at the bottom, making his shoes completely worthless.

"Alright…" Erik whispered and nodded. Curtis smiled and stared walking toward his room.

"This way" He said. Erik followed him. Curtis opened the door to his room and Erik followed in behind him.

"Nice room" Erik said as he looked around. The walls were painted a bloodish red colour. The Curtains were dark too, but they were pulled back. The rest of the room seemed to have an 18th century gothic theme about it.

"Thanks" Curtis said as he walked over to his wardrobe. "They're real by the way. The headstones and all that stuff" Curtis nodded toward a corner in the room. "I've been moving them around a lot lately" Erik looked at the headstones. He walked to them and looked them over. "They're from a cemetery in France" Curtis told him. Erik poked at one of the headstones, it crumbled into a heap.

"God. I'm sorry!" Erik exclaimed and quickly stood up. Curtis just smirked and laughed as he looked through the closet of the wardrobe.

"Was it the small one?" he asked. Erik nodded.

"I'm sorry…I…I can replace it if you'd like" He said quickly.

"Don't worry about it. It was already broken" Curtis responded. Erik rubbed his arm once more.

"You do that a lot, don't you?" Curtis asked, rummaging through a drawer of pants.

"Do what?" Erik asked surprised.

"Rub your arm. I've seen you do that like ten times" Curtis responded.

"I…I guess" Erik shrugged. Then everything was silent for while.

"A-ha! Perfect!" Curtis exclaimed after a few minutes. "I hope you're a stripes kind of guy" Curtis said. And without warning, he tossed Erik a black and white long sleeved horizontally striped shirt. "If it fits, you can keep it. Never did fit me right. Or look any good on me But…maybe you'll have better luck with it…And… here's some pants too. They might be a little big, maybe not, I guess we'll find out!" Curtis said as he tossed Erik a black pair of pants.

"Belt?" Erik asked puzzled.

"Nah. They always get lost or ruined" Curtis responded. Then he looked down to Erik's shoes. They were muddy and looked like they'd had better days. "Hang on" Curtis said and went over to a drawer in the wardrobe. A few minutes later, he pulled out a pair of black converse. He handed them to Erik. "Here. You can keep those too if they fit. Looks like your shoes have lived their lives three times over" Curtis smirked. Erik frowned a little.

"I walk a lot okay?" he said quietly. Curtis smiled, indicating he was messing around and he directed Erik to the bathroom so he could change.

"Perfect. Now your ready to travel the world as a mime" Curtis laughed as Erik came out of the bathroom in his new clothes. Erik looked at him with un-amused eyes. "I'm kidding. You look pretty cool actually" Curtis told him. Erik looked up, suddenly interested.

"I do?" he asked. Curtis nodded.

"Have you seen yourself?" Curtis asked. Erik shook his head. Curtis sighed and pulled him over to a closet by the door. He opened it and on the inside of the door was a mirror. Curtis pushed Erik in front of it. Erik looked himself over. "Nice, no?" Curtis asked. Erik nodded in agreement.

"N..Nice" he repeated. Things were quiet except for Erik's nervously shuffling feet. "I guess…I should be leaving now.." Erik trailed off. Curtis shrugged.

"I guess. But you _are _welcome to stay here" Curtis mentioned. He didn't want Erik to leave, but it seemed like he had his mind set. Curtis closed the closer door and he opened the front door. Erik slowly made his way toward the exit.

"Thanks…for the clothes" he said. Curtis nodded.

"No problem" he said. Erik walked out of the apartment door and Curtis closed it behind him. Curtis waited at the door a few minutes before he walked over to the TV. He picked up the remote and flopped down on the couch. He flipped through the channels for a while, Finally settling on some mindless cartoon. As he watched the show, he felt almost as if somebody was still there. He knew nobody was in the apartment. So he got up and went to the door. He opened the door. Outside, Erik was standing in the empty hallway. He rubbed his arm nervously as he looked down at his feet. He looked up at Curtis with scared eyes.

"Can I stay here?" he asked hopefully. Curtis smiled and closed the door behind him.

"You hungry?" he asked. Erik quickly nodded. "I know this great place. Let's go get some grub!" Curtis exclaimed, walking down the hallway. Erik followed behind him. Curtis drove downtown until they pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant with a huge lit-up sign.

"What-a-Burger?" Erik asked. Curtis nodded happily.

"Warning. The food looks like three month old garbage. But it tastes _amazing" _Curtis said with a grin.

As they walked into the restaurant, Curtis was greeted by the girl at the counter.

"Hiya Curtis!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Kimmy" He replied back.

"The usual I presume?" Kimmy asked.

"You know it" Curtis laughed. Erik looked around the restaurant. It looked like it had probably been a Subway at one point in time. Basically, if the set up didn't give it away, the Counter sure as hell did. Curtis nudged Erik lightly. "Pick something" He encouraged. Erik rubbed his arm again.

"You…You sure?" he asked. Curtis rolled his eyes and turned to Erik, folding his arms.

"No. I brought you here _just_ so you could watch me eat" Curtis replied sarcastically.

"Okay.." Erik said quietly.

"I'm kidding! Go ahead and get whatever sounds good" Curtis said. Erik looked at the menu once more. He eyed it for a while. Then he went back to staring at the ground.

"Chicken" He said flatly.

"Hmm?" Curtis asked him.

"Chicken sandwich" Erik said a bit louder.

"Alright" Curtis said.

"With extra tomatoes" Erik said quickly. Curtis nodded and ordered their meals. A few minutes later they were sat to a table. Curtis watched as Erik fiddled with a loose thread on the cuff of his shirt.

"Your not one to talk much, are you?" Curtis asked. Erik looked up at Curtis and shook his head, then he went back to the thread.

"I see" Curtis said. He wasn't really sure what to say next. He thought for a moment. "Why not" he asked.

"Nobody to talk to" Erik responded, not looking up.

"Oh" Curtis said quietly. Erik stayed quiet and Curtis tapped his fingers impatiently on the table after that. Once the silence got to quiet, Erik spoke.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked nervously.

"What do you mean?" Curtis asked.

"Why are you being so nice?…You don't even know me" Erik asked again.

"Maybe I'd like to" Curtis said kindly. Erik looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Why?" he asked, sarcasm lining his voice. Curtis shrugged.

"Because I can" He guessed. Erik stayed quiet, unsure if the answer satisfied him. A few seconds later, their number was called and Curtis got their food. He brought it back to the table. Erik's eyes widened as he looked at the mountain of greasy food. There were two large cartons of Curly fries, and two sandwich boxes. Curtis passed Erik the small blue box, and he kept the larger green one for himself. Curtis rubbed his hands together and grinned happily. He opened his box immediately. Erik slowly opened his sandwich box. The chicken sandwich didn't look to terribly bad as Curtis had warned. Heck, from what Curtis had told him, he was expecting it to be a live chicken wrapped in bread. He picked up his sandwich and began to eat. When he was done with it, he took his fries, and doused them in ketchup. At one point, Erik looked up to get something, but his eyes set themselves upon the monstrosity Curtis was eating. His eyes grew wide in disgust.

"God…that looks…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"Gross?. I know. It's pretty much the worse thing you can get, and it's amazing" Curtis laughed, taking another bite out of the garbage on a bun. Erik laughed a little at Curtis's joke.

"So you can smile?" Curtis mocked. Erik quickly went back to his quiet demeanor. While they finished eating, Curtis talked to Erik a bit more and when they finished, they left. "So how what it?" Curtis asked as they walked out to the car.

"What?" Erik asked.

"The Food. How was it? Curtis asked again. "Good, right?" He asked. Erik shrugged.

"I don't know" He said. Curtis raised a confused eyebrow.

"How could you not know?. You _just_ ate it" Curtis asked, baffled.

"I can't taste" Erik replied simply.

"What?" Curtis asked in disbelief.

"I can't taste" Erik said again.

"You can't taste?" Curtis asked confused. Erik nodded as he got into the car. "Your joking, right?" Curtis asked. Erik shook his head.

"No. No joke. I can't taste" Erik said. Curtis gave him a weird look as he started up the car.

"Explain" he said. Erik sighed.

"I have Anosmia. It means I can't smell anything, therefore I can't taste anything. Because you can't taste if you can't smell" Erik explained. Curtis gave Erik a strange look.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" he asked. Erik nodded. "Wow….that's…pretty cool actually. I bet people are always daring you to try something weird" Curtis said.

"Sometimes" Erik said.

"That must kind of suck though…" Curtis trailed off.

"Why?" Erik asked.

"'Cause you'd never have a favorite food, or anything like that." Curtis thought aloud.

"Not true!" Erik exclaimed. "I have a thing for tomatoes. Or anything tomato-ey" he explained. Curtis gave him another 'You-are-crazy' look. "I like the texture" he explained.

"Uh-huh" Curtis said. The conversation continued on until they got home

Curtis pulled into the apartment complex. Erik fiddled with the loose thread on his shirt a little while longer. Then, he stopped as Curtis pulled the key out of the ignition.

"Hey…Curtis?" Erik asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Curtis responded back. Erik was quiet for a few seconds more. Then he spoke.

"Thanks" he said. Giving Curtis a small smile. Curtis smiled back and patted him on the shoulder.

"Anytime" he said. Erik got out of the car and they walked to the apartment. Once they got inside, Curtis showed Erik to the spare room. The walls were a creamish colour, and the carpet was the perfect ugly match. There was a full size bed pushed to the wall on the far side of the room with no blankets or sheets.

"It's not much. But it's better than nothing" Curtis said. Erik walked into the room. It was nice. Despite the dreadful colours, it seemed right. Erik sensed the room was perfect. "If you want, we can go get you stuff to decorate in here" Curtis offered. Erik nodded.

"Okay" he said.

"And hey! When you get this room to your liking, you can take a couple of those headstones and such. That is…if you're into that kind of stuff" Curtis said. Erik smiled.

"I'd like that" he said. Curtis smiled.

"Alright then!" he said. Then, Curtis stuck up his index finger and left the room. A few minutes later, he came back with a stack of sheets, a blanket, and a pillow. "Will this suffice, at least for the next few days?" he asked. Erik nodded and took the pile and started to make the bed. After it was made, he sat himself back down on the bed and took his shoes off. Then he kicked them under the bed. Then he plopped himself down into the bed. He was tired. He was ready to sleep. Curtis tapped the wall and made his way out the door.

"Get a good night's sleep. We're gonna be busy tomorrow!" Curtis told him. Erik was laying face down in the bed. He gave a thumbs up to Curtis and within seconds, he was asleep. Curtis smiled.

"Good night Erik" he whispered before he flicked off the light and shut Erik's door quietly. He went through the apartment and turned off all the lights before he made his way to his room. After he changed into his pajamas, he flopped himself into his bed. As he fell asleep, he was positive he'd found who he'd always been looking for

Erik sat bolt upright in his bed. He was breathing hard and looking around nervously. The bedroom was dark. He wrapped his arms around himself in attempt to stop himself from shaking. Once he calmed himself down enough, he pulled his iPod touch out of his pocket.

3 A.M.- Dead on, again. Erik went to the iPod's menu and opened the notes. He began to type furiously.

_3 A.M…..again. _

_Yes. I'm up at 3AM again. God, why can't it be a normal time? Like 7AM. But no, it's got to be some in-human time. Anyway. I had that nightmare again. That one I keep having. At least it's not a new one…For now…I know my nightmares are trying to tell me something, but I don't know what…I…I don't mean to have them…but I do…and…I don't understand why I keep having them. I just wish they would go away. I mean, they never help me. Ever. I hate them! I hate them so much! But…things…might get better….Today…or…well…yesterday now… I met a guy. His name is Curtis. He saw me when I was on one of my walks. He's really nice. He's even letting me live with him. He's been so nice…Considering he's only known me like 12 hours. I don't want to tell him about my nightmares…He'll probably think I'm psycho and kick me out if I tell him I have insomnia and nightmares…But…I told him about my ansomia and he thought that was pretty cool…So I don't know…But…_

He stopped typing for a minute. Then he scrolled down the page a bit more.

_I don't want to have nightmares about Curtis. _

He saved the note and then turned his iPod off and put it back in his pocket. He laid himself back down and grabbed the pillow. He hugged it to himself tightly as he cried himself back to sleep.

Curtis knocked on Erik's door lightly. When there was no response, He opened it and quietly walked in. Erik was still sleeping. He was curled in a ball, holding his pillow close to himself. His face was partially burrowed in the pillow and the blankets were in a twisted heap around his feet. Curtis walked over to him and tapped his shoulder. Erik stirred a bit and let out a small, dry sob. Curtis shook Erik's shoulder and he opened his eyes sleepily. Curtis took his arm and pulled him into a sitting position on the bed.

"Morning sleepy" Curtis said kindly. Erik just lifted his eyes up to see Curtis. "You hungry?" he asked. Erik Shrugged. "Let's get some coffee in your system!" Curtis exclaimed, pulling Erik off the bed, through the hall, and into the kitchen. Then he pulled out a chair and sat Erik down in it. Erik dropped his head to the table and let his arms dangle at his sides. He was **NOT** a morning person. But clearly, Curtis was. Curtis came by a few minutes later with a mug in his hand. Erik lifted his head up so he could see what it was. "It's coffee" Curtis said. "It'll help you wake up". Erik eyed the cup a bit longer. He was resting his chin on the table. He dragged an arm up to the table and grabbed the cup. Then he dragged it across the table. He sat himself up straight and slowly took a sip. When he was done, he put the mug down and put his head back down on the table. Deciding this was uncomfortable, he lifted his head up and put his arms on the table, using them as a cushion for his head. The kitchen was quiet except for the food sizzling on the stove and Curtis's bare feet slapping against the cold tile flooring. Erik slowly started to wake up more once Curtis finished cooking and sat a plate in front of him. Scrambled eggs drenched in ketchup, a small pile of extremely greasy bacon, and a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes. He figured the food would have smelt great because it looked pretty appetizing. Erik thanked Curtis for the meal and began to eat. Curtis sat down a few minutes later in the chair across from him. He had basically the same thing as Erik, except his eggs were doused in syrup and his stack of bacon could probably give somebody a heart attack from just looking at it.

"How did you sleep last night?" Curtis asked as he began to eat. Erik looked down at his plate.

"Al-Alright" he lied, not looking up.

"That's good" Curtis replied. Then there was silence again. Erik began to feel a weird tension in the room. Curtis wasn't talking much. Erik felt like Curtis should be talking more.

_Maybe he's beginning to regret letting me stay _Erik thought. Erik thought for a few more minutes before the silence became to loud for him.

"Are…are you mad at me? Do you want me to leave?" Erik asked, fearing the answer. Curtis looked up at him with wide eyes.

"No! No, not at all!" Curtis exclaimed. Erik eyed him sadly.

"Well…Is everything alright?" He asked. Curtis looked down at his plate again, then he looked back up at Erik. He hesitated for a moment.

"It will be" He nodded.

"You sure?" Erik asked. He didn't want Curtis to feel bad. Curtis thought for a moment more.  
"Yeah. I'll be fine" he said with a small smile. Erik smiled back at him.

"If…If I ever bug you or anything…You can tell me. I…I can leave if you ever want me to" Erik said. Curtis smirked a bit. And he shook his head.

"No. You worry too much. You'll always have a place here" He said kindly. Erik smiled once more and finished his breakfast. Once they were done, they got ready.

"Well.. Let's go! We've got a lot to do today!" Curtis exclaimed.

A few weeks had passed since Erik moved in with Curtis. And while Curtis was being extremely kind, and Erik, extremely grateful, there was one thing Curtis wanted to do for him that Erik dreaded.

Go back to get his things.

Erik had told Curtis one night over dinner that when he'd been kicked out, he'd literally been kicked out. What Curtis saw Erik with when he first met him was all he had. Everything else was back at his old place. Curtis wanted to take Erik to get his stuff back. Mostly because the poor guy only had two outfits. The one Curtis had found him in, and the one he'd given Erik. So early that Saturday, Curtis decided Erik was going to get his things. But when Curtis told him, Erik had shut down altogether.

"Can we please not go?" Erik had asked desperately.

"No..no..we need to get your things" Curtis told him. "It's good to have things".

"Can you go then?" Erik asked hopefully.

"I don't know where you lived. And I certainly wouldn't know what belonged to you" Curtis said.

"Don't worry…that's easy! My stuff will be in the boxes by the street" Erik said frantically. Curtis looked at him for a minute. He felt bad, having to be strict with Erik. But it needed to be done. Curtis sighed.

"No" He said "No, we have to go" he reiterated. Erik nodded silently, and got into the car. The ride to Erik's old place was quiet. All Curtis could get out of him was pointed directions. When they got to the three bedroom townhouse, Erik noticed stack of boxes in the garage. He jabbed at the window, pointing to the boxes.

"You weren't kidding" Curtis said quietly, looking over at Erik, who shook his head. When Curtis had turned to Erik, he had noticed that Erik was shaking. _This isn't just not wanting to go. _Curtis thought. _It's sheer terror. _Curtis was beginning to regret bringing Erik. But he knew he had to. He turned to Erik, who was still shaking. He looked out the window as if it were death row, and he was tapping his left hand's fingers against his thigh. Curtis looked over him, when he saw how nervous Erik was acting, he reached for Erik's left hand. He took Erik's hand in both of his. Erik flinched slightly, then he looked over to him. Curtis could see the fear in Erik's dark brown eyes. He rubbed his thumb across Erik's knuckle.

"It'll be alright. I'm right here, Okay?" Curtis said reassuringly. Erik looked down once more, he didn't know what to do. Curtis sighed contently and then he brought Erik's hand up to his mouth and kissed his middle and ring finger. Erik looked up at him. Curtis smiled. "Okay?" he asked quietly. Erik closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Then he opened his eyes and looked out the window.

"Do I really have to?" he asked quietly. Curtis nodded. He shut his eyes once more "Okay" he whispered. Curtis smiled again.

"Let's go" he said. Erik lightly pulled his hand away from Curtis and got out of the car. Curtis walked up to the door, and Erik followed quietly behind him.

"You know…we…we don't have don't have to tell them we're here" Erik stuttered "We can just get my stuff and leave"

"It might not be all your stuff. And maybe they'll want to know your picking your stuff up" Curtis said. Erik silently cursed himself. He loved Curtis's optimistic attitude, but not today. Not when it was bringing him so close to things he dreaded. They reached the door, Erik was practically Curtis's shadow. Curtis knocked on the door.

"Who the fucks at the door?" a voice hollered. Curtis looked over at Erik, and Erik looked back at him. Suddenly, they both wished Curtis hadn't knocked on the door.

"I don't know! Answer it Steve!" another voice yelled.

"Shut up Kevin!" Steve yelled back, his voice getting closer to the door. It opened a few seconds later. A tall guy appeared in the doorway. He was average weight, and had a small face, but he had a huge nose plastered in the middle of it. And he had a mop of greasy black hair. Erik looked down at the ground, and Curtis nudged him.

"Hu-hi..Steve" Erik whispered. Steve immediately knew it was Erik.

"Holy shit! Look what the dog barfed up!" He yelled out.

"I…I...uh…I'm here to get my stuff…" Erik said, not looking up.

"Can't heard you leech!" Steve boomed. Erik lifted his head up, he hated it when they called him 'leech'. He pointed to the garage.

"Things" he muttered a bit irritated. Steve rolled his eyes.

"I dunno man, haffta ask Kevin" he said. Erik shrugged and Steve slammed the door in Curtis and Erik's faces

"Civilized pair, aren't they?" Curtis asked, trying to lighten the mood. Erik let out a small scoff in disagreement. A few minutes later, another guy came to the door. He was shorter, and leaning toward the chunky side. He rolled his eyes when he say Erik.

"Crawling back are you? Fine, go get your shit" Kevin said, annoyed. Erik squeezed himself between Kevin and the door, and made it into the house. Curtis was following close behind him when a chubby hand appeared in front of him.

"And who're you?" Kevin asked. Curtis looked toward Erik, who shrugged back at him. Curtis closed his eyes and shrugged back at Erik, moving his arms in a "It's Fine" type gesture.

"I'm Curtis. Curtis Rx" he said.

"What're you, like a doctor or somethin?" Kevin asked. Curtis just laughed.

"Nah. Just shortened my last name" he said.

"Kind of like Bat Boy over there?" Kevin asked, pointing a thumb at Erik, who stopped dead in his tracks.

"Bat Boy…" Erik whispered to himself before he took off for his old room.

"I guess" Curtis shrugged. Kevin patted him on the back.

"Come on in" Kevin urged. Curtis shrugged and reluctantly followed Kevin into the house. When he got inside, he saw Erik scurry from one room to another. A heap of things in his arms.

"Keep them occupied" Erik whispered to Curtis as he passed by. Curtis shrugged again. Then he clasped his hands together.

"So…Kevin, is it?" he asked, pretending to care. Kevin, who had went into the kitchen, nodded.

"That moron over there, that's Steve" he said, pointing a thumb at Steve as he walked through the kitchen.

"I see…" Curtis said under his breath. Kevin tossed Steve a can, and turned to Curtis.

"Beer?" he asked. Curtis nodded, unsure of what else to do. Kevin threw it to him in an underhand toss and Curtis caught it over handed. He tapped the top of the can and popped the lid.

"So how long have you guys known Erik?" Curtis asked, pretending to take a swig of the beer. Kevin walked back into the living room, Steve following behind him. They flopped on the couch.

"Oh…like…five years" Steve said. Curtis was surprised.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah. We went to high school together" Kevin butted in. "You?" he asked. Curtis didn't know if he should lie to them or tell them they'd only known each other a few weeks.

"A little while" he said. Kevin nodded in understanding. "So…Why'd you guys kick him out?" Curtis asked. Kevin and Steve looked back at each other and busted out into laughter. Curtis looked at them with confusion. "What's so funny?" he asked. Kevin collected himself a bit.

"Bat Boy!" he exclaimed. "We kicked him out cause he's crazy!" he laughed. Curtis raised an eyebrow at them.

"Huh?" he asked.

"He's crazy. Used to tell us some strange shit" Steve butted in.

"Yeah. Like that one time when he told us he started having nightmares about us" Kevin laughed.

"Nightmares?" Curtis asked. He didn't want to believe anything the two of them said, but somehow, he felt like they had spoke a line of truth.

"Yeah. A few years back, he said he started having nightmares" Kevin said.

"Recurring or…different?" Curtis asked, interested in the conversation.

"I don't know…both?" Steve shrugged.

"He'd wake up at 3AM every night" Kevin said.

"3AM?" Curtis asked.

"Yeah….and he kept saying that he had nightmares about Kevin turning into a zombie!" Steve laughed. Curtis looked at them oddly.

"And he said Steve was going to get impaled by arrows" Kevin finished. Curtis blankly looked at them. For some reason, He wasn't surprised Erik had nightmares. For the rest of the afternoon, Curtis barely listened as Kevin and Steve continued to talk bad about Erik. In fact, what he did listen to was downright vile. He couldn't believe someone could be talked about so badly. But just as he was sure his brain was going to implode, Erik quickly appeared next to him.

"Let's go" he whispered. Then he disappeared again. Curtis quickly stood up.

"Well, Kevin, Steve, It's been great. But I'm off" he said, trying to sound like he was upset to go. Curtis walked out to the car, where Erik was shutting the car's trunk. He quickly shuffled over to the passenger side of the car and got in. Curtis climbed in on the driver's side. Curtis looked over to Erik, who was staring out the window. He put his keys in the ignition.

"Let's get the hell out of here" Curtis said. Erik nodded and they sped off.

Erik and Curtis were sitting in the living room. Curtis was sitting upside down on the couch as he channel surfed and Erik was sitting sideways in the armchair as he read a book. They'd just had dinner a while before.

"Whatcha reading?" Curtis asked. Erik shifted a bit in his chair.

"It's this book about ghouls. Nothing interesting" Erik replied. Curtis sat up.

"You kidding? That sounds awesome!" he exclaimed, walking over to Erik. "Got anything on zombies in there?" he asked. Erik smiled.

"Actually, I'm on it right now!" he answered.

"What's it say?" Curtis asked.

"It says, zombies are activated by radiation" Erik read aloud.

"I knew it." He said, pounding his fist on the arm of the chair. Erik smiled again. "And how do you kill them?" He asked.

"Well… it says, if you kill the brain, then you kill the ghoul. And it's motor functions" Erik read aloud.

"So…Aim for the Head?" Curtis asked.

"Aim for the Head*" Erik smiled. Curtis held his hands out and Erik passed him the book.

"That's pretty cool" Curtis remarked.

"Thanks" Erik said. He walked over to the couch and picked up the remote. Then he flipped through the channels. Suddenly a siren began blaring from the television. Curtis looked up from Erik's book. Then the words "BREAKING NEWS!" appeared on the television screen in bright read letters.

"Wonder what's up" Curtis said. Erik shrugged as a man appeared on the T.V.

"Civil Defense authorities have told newscasters The murder victims showed evidence of having been partially devoured by their murderers. And now his incredible story is being broadcasted in these reports. It's difficult to imagine something like this actually happening but these are reports we have been receiving and passing on to you, reports that have been verified as completely as possible in view of the situation. It is happening. Medical authorities in Cumberland have concluded that in all cases, the killers are eating the flesh of the people they murder." The reporter said. Curtis looked up at Erik, who looked back at him.

"…Head. Or a heavy blow to the skull. Officials are quoted as explaining that since the brain of a ghoul has been activated by the radiation. The plan is. Kill the brain and you kill the ghoul." The news reporter continued on.

"Do you think it's for real?" Erik asked.

"I… We can't be sure. But they've never gone this far to prank people" Curtis said.

"What about "The War of the Worlds" Hoax?" Erik asked.

"Besides that." Curtis remarked. They looked at the TV, which was now showing video footage of people being attacked by zombies.

"It looks pretty real" Erik said.

"I know" Curtis agreed.

"What…what should we do?" Erik asked.

"Well…I don't have much here but…well…" Curtis thought for a moment. "Here, go see what you can find" Curtis said, tossing Erik his car keys. Erik gave Curtis an uneasy look.

"Leave?" he asked. Curtis nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be alright" Curtis smiled. "Promise". Erik looked back at Curtis once more before he ran to the car, unsure if he was doing the right thing

It was dark when Erik returned. He had a loaded pistol in his hand. Pretty much the only gun he had left. His shirt was covered in blood, as were his hands. His face had a few blood spots and he had a gash on the left side of his forehead. It hadn't been an easy trip. But he'd managed to loot a few guns from the local hunting store. Erik walked up to the door, and he stepped inside. All the lights were out. Erik cocked the gun.

"Curtis?" he asked into the dark. Nothing. "Curtis?" he asked again, a bit louder this time. A figure emerged from behind a door. It was Curtis. Erik took a sigh of relief.

"Hello Erik" Curtis said in a maniacal tone. Erik gave Curtis a strange look.

"Curtis, are you okay?" He asked. Curtis shrugged.

"Sure. I'm alright, in fact, I've never felt better!" Curtis exclaimed. Erik could only stare at Curtis as he walked toward him.

"C-Curtis…What happened while I was gone?" Erik asked nervously.

"Oh, not to much. Some things here and there. Oh! And I've even found myself a snack!" Curtis replied, revealing one of his long, skinny, arms from behind his back. A huge bite mark covered a good portion of his inner arm. It was bloodied and skin was missing from it. Dark purple veins were sprouting from around the wound. Erik slowly back away from Curtis. He knew now.

"Your…Your not Curtis. Are you?" he asked quietly.

"Not anymore" Curtis replied in an malevolent tone, looking at Erik with devilish eyes. Erik looked down. His feet were shuffling nervously. "You know what this means then, don't you?" Zombie Curtis asked. Erik looked up at him.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"You know what happens next, right?" Zombie Curtis reiterated. Erik looked down once more. He mumbled something. Zombie Curtis rolled his eyes.

"Can't hear you leech" He said irritated. _Now he's mocking me too? _Erik thought to himself. He sighed and took the gun in both his hands.

"I have to kill you" He said in a dead tone.

"Aim for the Head" Zombie Curtis remarked. Erik looked up once more.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well how else did you think you were gonna do it? You said it yourself! If you kill the brain, then you kill the ghoul!" Zombie Curtis exclaimed.

"But…I can't kill you…You might not be Curtis anymore…but you were" Erik stopped for a minute "Once".

"You have no choice" Zombie Curtis laughed. Erik shook his head. He couldn't think.

"I don't want to kill Curtis! I can't!" He yelled. Zombie Curtis roared in laughter.

"Ha!" he exclaimed "You can't kill me!" He walked over to Erik, his tone turning dark once more. "Get up you wimp" He snapped. Erik scrambled to his feet. "Your pathetic" Zombie Curtis said harshly.

"No, I'm not" Erik whispered.

"Your not?!" Zombie Curtis shot back. "You can't even kill me!" he shouted.

"Yes I can" Erik whispered. "I don't want to…but I can" he said.

"You can, can you?" Zombie Curtis questioned. Erik nodded. Zombie Curtis scoffed.

"Prove it" he said flatly. Erik stood up and pointed the gun at him. The pistol shook in his trembling hands. He tried to focus. Tried to pull the trigger. But he couldn't. Even if this thing, this zombie wasn't Curtis anymore. It used to be. And he couldn't kill the one person that had been nice to him. Even if he wasn't really a "person" anymore. Zombie Curtis stared at the gun, then he put a hand on the barrel. He moved the barrel up until it was pointed directly at his forehead.

"Aim for the Head" he smirked. The gun continued to shake in Erik's hands.

"I can't" he said, lowering the gun. Zombie Curtis just laughed.

"I knew it. Your pathetic. Your worthless. You can't even kill me. Hell, you probably couldn't kill anything else if your life depended on it" He mocked. Zombie Curtis began to walk away from him. Erik slid back to the floor, his back against the door. Then, Zombie Curtis stopped walking. Erik looked up at him. Without warning, Zombie Curtis lunged at Erik. Erik closed his eyes and fired the gun. The was a loud, audible _BANG!, _and a flash of white light before he was sucked back into cold reality.

Curtis sleepily opened his eyes when he heard the door open softly. He rested himself on the backs of his arms when he heard it close. His room was dark, aside from the television, which was glowing with a dim blue hue. Curtis could barely make out a figure walking toward him.

"Cuh-Curtis?" A shaky voice barely spoke. Curtis's sleeping brain recognized the voice belonged to Erik.

"Erik?" he asked tiredly. Erik hesitated, trying to find the words he wanted to say.

"Are you… Your…Did something…Nothing… Ha-Happened…Okay...Right?" Erik Spluttered. Curtis sat himself up and rubbed his eyes. It took him a minute to take in what Erik tried to say. He noticed that Erik seemed to have a strange tone to his voice. Almost like he was going to cry.

"I-I'm alright" Curtis said kindly. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Erik didn't answer. Curtis could tell Erik was rubbing his arm nervously in the dark. Curtis rubbed his eyes again and leaned over to look at the clock. _3AM _he read to himself. Then he reached up to flick on the lamp. "Erik…What are you doing up at 3 in the morn-" He stopped himself in mid sentence. The room lit up. He looked at Erik, who was standing in the middle of the room. His right foot was atop his left, his right arm was rubbing it's counterpart. He was shaking fretfully. Curtis didn't have to finish his sentence. He knew why Erik was there. Erik looked up at Curtis.

"O-kay.. Thu-thu-that's all…I ju-just…wuh-wanted to muh-make sure you…your not…Thu…that your still…Cur-Curtis…" Erik stuttered. Curtis was confused. _Still Curtis? _He thought to himself. That's when Curtis noticed that Erik was drained of colour. Like he'd been attacked by a ghost.

"Erik?" Curtis asked worriedly. "Are you okay?" He asked. Erik nodded slightly. Then he lowered his head and put a hand over his eyes. His breathing became hitched. A small cry emancipated itself from his chest, followed by more, quiet and hitched breaths. Curtis jumped out of his bed and over to Erik. He stretched his thin arms out to Erik and wrapped him in a comforting hug. He embraced Erik for a few minutes more. Then he took Erik's wrist in his hand and lightly pulled Erik's hand away from his face. Erik let his head drop without a second thought. Curtis put a hand on each one of Erik's cheeks. Then he lightly lifted Erik's head up and dropped his own head so he could see Erik's face.

"You want to go sit down?" Curtis whispered to him. Erik only nodded. Curtis lifted his own head back up and walked Erik over to the bed. He sat Erik down and climbed into the bed beside him. Curtis situated himself on the bed, then he pulled Erik close to him, settling Erik on his lap. As Erik cried, Curtis rocked him and alternated between rubbing his back and stroking his head soothingly. He made occasional, soft, shushing sounds, trying his best to calm Erik's fears. But Erik just continued to weep. He couldn't stop himself, he couldn't help it. He clung to Curtis's flannel shirt with his right hand. His face was hidden deep in Curtis's chest. Erik didn't speak. He didn't want to. To cry it out was easier then to explain it. Slowly but surely Erik began to cry less and less until his sobs were nothing more then quiet whimpers. His breathing slowed from a quickened pace to a calm involuntary. Once Erik had quieted down, Curtis progressively stopped rocking him. Curtis then propped himself up against the wooden headboard. He looked down at Erik, who's head was now rested on his left shoulder. He was sleeping. Tears were still wet on his face. His mouth was slightly ajar. Curtis smiled at him tiredly. He looked over at the clock. It was almost 4:30AM. He yawned and sunk himself down into the bed, settling Erik close to him on his right side. Erik stirred and woke up a bit. He turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Curtis. He buried his face deep in Curtis's chest. Then he was immediately sleeping once more. Curtis smiled tiredly and yawned. He brought the blankets up around the two of them, making sure they both had enough, and he rested his head on the pillow. Within moments, he was sound asleep. They both slept contently through the night.

Erik slowly came to wakefulness. He felt a warm hand rubbing his back soothingly. It felt comforting. It felt nice. Then he realized he couldn't remember where he was. He opened his eyes. He was in Curtis's room. He knew it when he saw the television, which, at the time, was airing an episode of "Invader Zim" Curtis's favorite to be exact.

"TAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSS!" The TV yelled. Erik heard somebody laugh as the show continued on.

"Curtis?" he asked dazedly. He hadn't thought Curtis was actually there with him! He lifted his head up. That's when he realized he'd been using Curtis as his own personal pillow. Curtis's laughing subsided quickly.

"Hey Erik" he said in a soft tone. "How're you feeling this morning?" he asked. Erik slowly rose up into a sitting position. His head throbbed dully. He felt Curtis pat him on the back. "So?" he asked. Erik thought for a moment.

"Cold" he replied simply. Curtis held back a small laugh.

"I could fix that. If you'll let me" He said. Erik shrugged. Curtis sat himself upright, then he grabbed the ends of the blankets, he brought them up around the two of them and, much to Erik's surprise, Curtis wrapped his arms around him. The cold feeling was instantly replaced by Curtis's warmth. It was comforting. He liked this too. "Better?" Curtis asked him. Erik sunk into Curtis's embrace, resting his head on Curtis's chest, hoping he wouldn't object. Curtis said nothing about it. "Better?" he asked again. Erik nodded. His head was rested so that his ear was against Curtis's chest. He heard Curtis's heartbeat. For some strange reason, it soothed him. He sighed deeply. Then things were quiet for a few minutes before Erik broke the silence.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled.

"For what?" Curtis asked confused.

"For last night" Erik said. Curtis scoffed.

"Don't be" He said sternly.

"But I woke you up-"

"It's alright. Okay? No harm done" Curtis cut him off sternly. He wouldn't let Erik beat himself up over something he couldn't control. Erik sighed again, he knew he shouldn't fight back. "But…" Curtis trailed off, his tone changing. Erik looked up at him.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Would you tell me. You know, about your nightmare? What was it about?" Curtis asked. Erik's eyes widened in shock.

"How did you-"

"Kevin and Steve told me. About the _Only _thing they were good for." Curtis remarked.

"Oh.." Erik trailed off quietly. Curtis took a breath.

"Will you tell me? Please? I just want to help" He said nervously.

"You" Erik responded flatly.

"Huh?" Curtis asked, confused.

"You. It was about you" Erik repeated.

"What happened?" Curtis asked, a little unsure if he wanted to know.

"You…turned into a zombie and tried to eat me" Erik explained flatly.

"Oh" Curtis said. Erik took a heavy breath. "It'll be alright" Curtis said, embracing Erik and rubbing his back. Erik yawned sleepily.

"'m tired" he said.

"No doubt! You cried for nearly two hours" Curtis replied.

"Sorry" Erik whispered.

"Stop saying that" Curtis snapped. "Why don't you take a nap? Go back to sleep for a little bit. Then later, we'll hit the movies or something" Curtis suggested. But Erik was already beginning to doze off.

"Mm…sounds nice.." he replied, half asleep. Curtis chuckled a little. He picked up one of Erik's hands and took it in his. Erik lightly squeezed Curtis's hand in reply. Then Curtis kissed Erik softly on the forehead before he rested his head against Erik's.

"Sleep tight my love" he whispered before he too, fell asleep once more.

It had been late when Erik had finally decided to get up.

"Did you sleep good?" Curtis asked as Erik walked out of his own room. He was dressed in a pair of very dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt with Marilyn Monroe on front. He was carrying his shoes by the laces.

"Can't complain. Your bed is actually quite comfortable." Erik responded.

"You think?" Curtis asked.

"Yeah. Actually I do" Erik remarked as he flopped down on the dark emerald green recliner. Curtis smiled to himself and went to grab his own shoes. Erik popped his foot into his left shoe. Curtis came back as he started lacing it.

"So, the only good movies that are out right now start at 5pm. It's going on 4:30 right now, So our best bet is to just go now, and if we're hungry, we can pick up a bite to eat later. If that works for you, that is" Curtis explained.

"Sounds good to me. What are we going to go see?" Erik asked as he finished lacing up his right shoe.

"Well….that's the thing. I'm not sure. I know what I'd want to go see, but that's only if it's not sold out, and if you want to see it. Plus, there are a couple other movies that _do_ look interesting, but I guess it all depends on what we agree on" Curtis went on.

"What is it? I mean, what movie are you wanting to see?" Erik asked.

"Oh. I want to see "The Walking Dead"* , I've pretty much given up hope on the zombie movies that have come out recently, but that actually looks like it might turn out to be a great movie" Curtis said.

"We could go see it. If you'd like" Erik said.

"Ar-Are you sure? I mean…Last night….with that dream and all….Are you going to be okay with it?" Curtis questioned.

"I'll be fine. It sounds like you really want to see this movie, so lets go see it." Erik replied.

"Are you sure?" Curtis asked again.

"It's just a movie. It can't hurt me, and honestly, neither can nightmares. This isn't like 'Nightmare on Elm street' or anything, I'm not going to be attacked by Freddy and get killed in my nightmares by some fucked up zombie that looks like you." Erik supposed.

"Alright…let's go" Curtis said. Erik grabbed his favorite hoodie, which had a huge hole in one of the elbows and they got into the car. As Curtis drove off, Erik began to tap his fingers. He wanted to listen to something.

"Got any CD's in here?" He asked.

"Um.." Curtis thought for a moment. "Yeah. They should be in the glove compartment" He finished. Erik tried to open it, but no such luck. Curtis noticed this. "Oh…Right…You have to hit it for it to open*" Curtis explained.

"What?" Erik asked.

"Yeah, Just give it one good punch or something, it should pop right open" Curtis told him,

"Alright.." Erik said with a shake of his head. He balled his hand into a fist and punched at the Glove compartment's door. It opened without problem.

"Success!" Curtis cheered. Erik smiled at him and rolled his eyes. There were two stacks of CD cases in the compartment. He could almost see why you had to punch it to open it. Erik picked up the stack to the left. Curtis had an odd selection, for someone like himself. John Denver… Zombinia and the Skeletons (Whoever they were)…Queen…Rob Zombie…Erik paused at a Nine Inch Nails CD.

"Does it have 'Closer' on it?" He asked, showing Curtis the case. Curtis negatively shook his head.

"'fraid not" He responded. Erik sighed and put the stack back into the glove compartment. He was starting to think they would not have any of the same music interests. As he shuffled through the second stack he thought he saw one of his personal favorites. Flipping through the rest of the stack he grabbed the black and tan case with the spray paint cans on the front.

"You like Linkin Park too?" He asked. Curtis looked over to the CD in Erik's hand. The word "Meteora" stretched over the front. For a moment, he didn't respond. He just looked away, facing the road once more.  
"Yeah…" he said quietly. Erik looked at him with confusion.

"Is there something wrong with that?" he asked rather quietly. This time, Curtis sighed softly.

"I…I don't have anything against the band if that's what your thinking" Curtis remarked. Erik shrugged. He wasn't thinking that at all, in fact, he wasn't sure what to think.

"So…Do you like them too?" Erik asked again.

"Specifically that album" Curtis said. Erik gave him another look of confusion.

"So you don't like 'Hybrid Theory' or 'Minutes to Midnight'?" he questioned. Curtis was silent a bit longer. He didn't really feel like answering this time. He looked over to Erik. He could tell Erik was begging to know something, anything about him. He sighed once more.

"I do….just…I like 'Meteora' for different reasons…" He trailed off. Erik sat back in his seat.

"Oh.." He said quietly. He wanted to know now. But upsetting Curtis was not worth it. Curtis looked back over to Erik once more. Now, Erik was starting out the window, tapping his fingers as if he were playing a keyboard. Looking back toward the road once more, he sighed.

"It's my suicide album" He blurted out. Erik looked at him.

"Your what?" he asked with slight disbelief.

"My suicide album…You know…A CD that I'd play in case I ever decided to…You know…" Curtis trailed off.

"Kill yourself?" Erik picked up.

"Yea" Curtis nodded. Erik couldn't find the right words for a while. It didn't even seem possible that Curtis would even _want_ to kill himself. It was quite awhile before Erik could muster up one word.

"Why?"

Curtis sighed.

"A few years back…Things got bad…I mean, really bad. I had nothing. No money, No car, I could barely afford to keep the place we're living in. I had nothing. Just…me. And nobody wanted that. I tried getting jobs, I sold a lot of important things, I did everything I could, but it ended up badly in the end. So I stopped caring. I had no friends. Well…I mean…I did have friends at one point, but they never wanted anything to do with me…They always told me they were busy, or they had to do this, or they had to go here. In the end, I just told most of them I wanted nothing to do with them pretending to care about me. It just wasn't worth it. I'd rather have had nobody care about me then a bunch of fakers who just wanted my things. Anyway, the only time I could make sense of anything was when I listened to that CD. And the more and more I listened, the more I reasoned that killing myself would be a good thing. Because it wasn't like I was making it anywhere. Everytime I tried to do something, it just ended up like crap. I even went so far as to figure out how I was going to do it, and I actually _had_ tried. But for whatever reason…When 'Breaking the Habit' played. I didn't want to kill myself. I wanted to continue on, even if it was hard. Hence why I'm still here" Curtis finished as he pulled into the Theater's parking lot. Erik was still trying to catch up.

"I'm…I guess I'm a bit confused. So you tried to kill yourself before?" Erik asked. Curtis nodded slowly.

"Yes.." he said quietly. "I've played that CD everytime I've ever tried. And If I get to 'Breaking the Habit' that means I've convinced my self it's not worth it…But" Curtis stopped for a moment as he parked. "But if I get past that song…And end up at 'Numb'…it means I've either started the CD at song 9.…or…" Curtis didn't need to explain the "Or" Erik knew exactly what the other possibility could have been. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine where he would be if Curtis had killed himself. It wasn't pleasant.

"And…Do you still think about it?, You know…Killing yourself?" Erik asked in a trembling voice.

"Only when things go wrong" Curtis said, looking at Erik with sad eyes. Erik looked back at him. For a moment, it looked like Curtis was going to cry. Then he looked out the window. He hadn't even realized they'd already gotten to the theater.

"How long have we been here?" He asked

"We're here?" Curtis questioned looking out the window.

"You know, that's scary. Considering the fact that you're the one that drove here" Erik responded.

"Weird" Curtis said as he got out of the car. He wiped his eyes with his hand. Erik locked the car's doors and they walked toward the theater.

"It's 4:50 now. We'd better hope there isn't a huge line at concessions" Curtis said.

"Well…you've got to count the time for trailers. So really, You have about a five minute lee-way and…" Erik stopped thinking for a moment. "Concessions? What if there's a huge line for both?" He asked. "

"Oh yeah. That would be a problem too" Curtis said. Erik could tell that Curtis was only interested in the candy selection they had. Erik thought for a little while longer.

"Um..Wait…Earlier you said you didn't have a job. I haven't seen you leave the house maybe more then once. How are you able to pay for this?" He asked. It wasn't like he wasn't grateful for it, but it just seemed weird that Curtis would suggest something if he didn't have the money for it.

"I do have a job. It's a lot of online stuff. I compose music for web shows and I have my own line of T-shirts. They sell very well. I guess people love morbid comedy" Curtis said with a smile. Erik just rolled his eyes again.

"I guess so" He said.

_We are the sure fire winners… _

Curtis and Erik were sitting in the top row. There weren't too many people around aside themselves. Just a couple of teenagers who were clearly not old enough to see a rated R movie, but found a way to get in anyway.

"What do you think so far?" Curtis whispered into Erik's ear. Erik jumped slightly when Curtis's warm breath hit his ear, but relaxed after he realized it was okay.

"I..I like it." He replied in the same volume.

"Good. I was hoping you would" Curtis went on.

"I do. It's got very good graphics" Erik commented quietly as he shifted himself in his seat. Curtis, meanwhile stretched his arms and went back to his popcorn, which was almost empty.

"Yep.." Curtis trailed off. After a few minutes, Curtis noticed Erik shuffle in his seat again. "You uncomfortable?" Curtis asked him in a concerned tone. Erik nodded.

"Usually, no, but today for some reason I can't seem to-" Erik cut himself off, trying to fidget with the armrest opposite the one in between himself and Curtis. So, naturally, he hadn't noticed when the middle one went up and Curtis's arm went around him.

"Better?" Curtis asked.

"Not quite" Erik said, he got closer to Curtis and wrapped his hand around Curtis's. "Now I am" He went on.

"Good." Was all Curtis said.

_We're coming up like killing machines, Our big gun's gonna shatter your scene, there's pandemonium on the floor, Cause everybody wants a little more.. _

Things were quite for a while. A couple teenagers snickered at each other quietly. A couple that couldn't have been much older than early twenties were sitting a few rows beneath them. Clearly, the girl was trying to get the guy to make out with her, who was too interested in the movie to care.

_They want to ride on the rocket ship. Ride around the moon for a velvet kiss. Cause all the girls and the boys wanna know…_

Erik looked up at Curtis. He too, seemed too interested in the movie to care. But wasn't his arm around Erik now? What did that mean? Was he just trying to be friendly, or was he actually making a move on him? A voice in Erik's head kept screaming _There's only one way to find out! _

Erik quickly leaned up to Curtis and kissed him on the cheek.

_How far this bad wild child's gonna go? _

Curtis looked down as Erik resettled himself in Curtis's lap. His eyes were wide and he said nothing. He stared at Erik a bit longer before he went back to the movie. Erik felt a fool. They sat in silence for the remainder of the movie, and walked out of the theater without a sound. The car ride home was worse. No music, no discussions of the movie (Or anything else for that matter) Just the sounds of the car and traffic surrounded them. Erik was scared, worried, confused. He wasn't even sure that he'd tried to kiss Curtis. Couldn't this just as easily be a dream? Or rather, a nightmare. As they pulled down the street, Erik tried to form the words to apologize. It wasn't until they pulled into the driveway he could speak.

"Curtis, Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything I just…I thought you were trying to make a move and-" Erik's panicked voiced was hushed as Curtis leaned across the seat and kissed Erik hard on the lips.

_We are the sure fire winners, Uh-oh, yeah big time hitters! Bringing the heat and the word is out, giving you something to shout about!.._

Erik was confused. Curtis's hand was on his left cheek, and even more so his lips were against his! He pushed Curtis away lightly.

"I thought you didn't want-"

"Shut up." Curtis said flatly.

"Pardon me?" Erik was shocked.

"I want you, and I should hope, after that stunt you pulled at the theater, that you want me too, no?" Curtis went on flatly. Erik felt the wind get knocked out of him.

"Well.. Well yeah!" Erik exclaimed.

"Then lets go" Curtis said, getting out of the Car and running to the front door. Erik chased after him. They met in the doorway.

_We are, We are, we are the sure fire winners… _

Erik pushed Curtis against the door and kissed him fervently. Curtis went weak in the knees as he struggled to find the keys for the door. He wanted to give in so badly,

"Let me open the door dammit.." He whispered "We certainly can't do anything out here…" he went on, pushing Erik aside. He forced himself to push thoughts slightly to the side of his brain as he fiddled with the keys before dropping them on the floor.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Erik said frustrated. He grabbed the keys and opened the door. "In!" he exclaimed. Curtis ran into the house, and Erik slammed the door behind him, shortly followed by locking and dead bolting. It didn't take long to decide what to do next. They ran to Curtis's bedroom.

_Flick the switch and the missile will fire, I'm a heat seeker when I'm full of desire… _

In the blink of an eye, they were on each other like animals. Clothes already strewn to the floor. Flesh against flesh now, One atop the other. Rolling together in a heap of sheets and blankets. Curtis pinning Erik beneath him, Kissing his every part, starting from the lips…working down..

_We're all drawn to the heat of the flame… Cause you wanna be a star in the hall of fame.._

A muffled moan of satisfaction slid out of Erik as he realized just exactly what Curtis was doing.

"You like?" Curtis asked momentarily before going back to Erik.

"Don't talk. Just suck" Erik spoke quietly. Curtis obeyed. Magical sensations worked throughout Erik's body, like his bloodstream was being filled with ecstasy. His body shuddered in delight as Curtis continued to delight him. Erik was breathing heavily, gripping on to anything he could. A pillow, a blanket….simple things that meant nothing…

_All the girls in the club want to know… _

Curtis felt himself getting tense, his whole body hardening. He wanted to get inside Erik, and he wanted to do it now.

_Where did all their pretty boys go? _

Out of the darkness. seven words.

"Curtis!….Fuck me now…Hard and fast!"

Curtis was moving like lighting. Erik's piece out of his mouth. In the blink of an eye, Erik was turned on his backside, his smooth, perfect back facing Curtis.

_We are the sure fire winners…Take a walk on the wild with me…Gonna take you to the top of what you believe… _

Curtis felt himself slip inside Erik. In the blink of an eye, they were two that became one. Curtis thrusted quickly into Erik, who was holding on to the blankets for support.

_Never gonna stop till we reach the top.._

Erik's whole body was going weak with excitement, he could hardly hold himself up, but his brain fought his body _I want this…I need this.. _he felt his whole body say. "Faster!" Erik shouted, Curtis obliged his lover's wishes and went on.. Erik felt his insides twist and turn with delight. He was so close…

_You'd better get out of the game it's never gonna be the same…Move over cause a new boy's calling it time…._

Curtis was climbing up to the climax. Inside he felt it well up inside him…the intensity growing with each thrust….He was almost there…he was ready… just a bit more…

_Bringing the heat and the word is out… _

Erik felt himself focusing on the pleasure alone, he wanted reach that moment….that moment he'd waited so long for….it was almost here…so..so very close… he was about to make it…he was there….he was ready…his body was tensing up for the big moment…

_Giving you something to shout about…_

Erik moaned in delight as he came down from the intensity high. But Curtis was not quite there..

_We are the sure fire winners… Bringing the heat and the word is out…giving you something to shout about.._

Hotter now…hotter, faster, hotter, faster. he was there, he was so close, one final breath before the plunge….

_We are the sure fire winners…Gonna take you to the top of what you believe…._

Curtis felt his body relax as he did. With a few simple motions, he unstraddled his lover flopped to the side of the bed. Erik did the same. The lay together for a few moments. Heavy breathing between the two of them, trying to come down from the high they'd both so desired for the longest of times.. A few more moments passed, breathing controlled, Erik sat himself up. Looking at the bed, looking at himself. Looking at Curtis. He walked to the bathroom and turned on the faucet.

"I'm showing. You joining me?" Erik asked. Curtis was already moving

"I thought you'd never ask" he replied happily.

_We are the sure fire winners…._

Over the course of the next few weeks, Erik started to become detached from his world. While him and Curtis had taken to sleeping together, he'd become more and more anxious. Bored with the world around him. He wanted out. Wanted things to do. Finally, after almost a month of sheer restlessness, three and a half weeks of sheer ennui, he spoke up.

"I got a job" He said in a flat tone.

"Huh?" Curtis remarked as he flopped down on the bed next to Erik.

"I" Erik started, pointing to himself "Got a job. You know, do stuff for people equals making money" he finished.

"Oh" Curtis said "Why?, You don't need to."

"Because, I feel like I owe you. You've done a lot for me over the past months-" Erik started

"Dude, you don't owe me. I don't mind. We've had this conversation before, no?" Curtis asked

"You didn't let me finish" Erik explained. "I feel like I owe you, and I'm bored" he said.

"Bored?"

"Yeah. Bored. I mean, sure, we do stuff all the time, but before I was living with you, I was pretty used to just working all the time. It kept me out of the house and out of the way. So, it's not because of you, I'm just….I want to work. It'll help me get my life back to normal" Erik ended. Curtis turned, facing away from Erik.

"Well…I mean…I can't really say no to you…" Curtis said with the slightest hint of anger as he pulled the blankets over his shoulders. "When do you start…"

"Well. Tomorrow actually" Erik said in a chipper tone.

"Joy…" Curtis mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Erik asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just coughed. Guh-Good night" Curtis said no more after.

"Um…Okay" Erik whispered. "Hey, listen, I'm going to sleep in my room tonight, cool? I think I should be fine" He told Curtis.

"Yeah, sure, whatever…" Curtis mumbled, making it hard to understand what he said.

"Curtis? Eh, You're probably sleeping, I won't bother you" Erik finished then quietly walked out of the room. Curtis stared at the bedroom door for a long time. It was ridiculous, Erik wanting a job. He didn't need one and his excuse? That he was 'bored'. Well it just wasn't worth his time. It was obvious that Erik was getting restless. Ever since the other night when they'd finally done it, Erik had started growing farther and farther away from Curtis. _Whatever_ Curtis thought to himself _Let him get a job. Let him waste his own time. I don't care. He won't keep this up forever. He's just doing it for attention. He'll end up quitting by the end of the week. _Curtis thought a bit longer.

"Fuck you" he said before he made himself go to sleep.

The next day, Curtis woke up groggy. Head in a fog. He didn't recall if his ever been so mad at someone before. He tried to clean out his head. Then he heard whistling. He put on a confused face, then quickly got on some pants and dashed out the bedroom door. Erik was pouring himself a cup of coffee. Curtis just stood in the doorway seething. Erik looked at Curtis.

"Hey C-" He didn't finish, Curtis cut him off. Erik snapped his eyes shut, fearing the worst.

"So what's the job?" he asked flatly.

Erik opened his eyes.

"Oh…It's… A restaurant. It's just up the road, about fifteen minutes into town" Erik replied softly.

"Oh" Curtis followed up. "Maybe I'll visit you for lunch then. I've got a couple things to do in the studio later, but other then that…" Curtis felt himself fade out with his sentence. He couldn't believe that Erik would want to work because he wanted to. He knew there had to be another reason. There had to be something.

"If you want" Erik said in a mixed tone. "It's not really a big deal…" He stopped. They both stared at each other for a while, neither of them knowing what to say or how to react to the other. They locked eyes. Erik felt tears well up. He could sense things were starting to get bad. Curtis tried to make himself form words.

"Er..Erik" he was barley audible. Erik forced himself to look at the clock. "I uh…I've got to go. I'll see you later" Erik regained control of his legs and walked out the door. Curtis watched as Erik left. Then he walked back to his room and laid himself down on the bed. He curled up with a pillow as tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Please don't leave me…" he whispered before be shoved his head into the pillow and cried himself into sleep.

Erik wiped the tears from his eyes as he got off the bus. It'd been a short ride. He'd hardly had time to collect himself for his first day of work. He walked into the building and followed the instructions to where he was supposed to be. He soon found himself in a small kitchen. A short, younger girl was standing by the counter rolling silverware into placemats. Erik stood there for a moment before trying to speak up. He coughed. The girl looked up. She smiled.

"Oh hello! You must be the newbie!…Erik, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yuh…Yes." he replied "Am I in the right place?" He asked.

"Sure are" She replied. She put down her silverware and wiped her hands on her apron before walking over to him and extending a hand.

"I'm Jacqueline. Well…Jace really. I don't really care for my name and I hate 'Jackie' even more" She said. Erik shook her hand warmly.

"Nuh-Nice to meet you" He said, trying to hide the fact he'd been crying.

"You alright?" Jace asked.

"Yeah. Do I not look alright?" Erik retaliated.

"No. You don't. You look like you got into a fight with your significant other and you left because you didn't want to make things worse" she said.

"Your good" Erik remarked.

"I know. It's kind of something I do. I don't know why, but I can read people pretty well. Anyway, it'll be alright, but in the meantime, lets get working. I'll be training you" She explained. "That translates to you'll be following me around like a puppy for the next few days until you get the idea of how to do the job yourself" She went on. They got to work. A little while later, another girl came into the kitchen. She had a mess of shaggy dark brown hair, She was about the same height as Jace, maybe a bit taller, and she was skinner. She walked over to Jace.

"How goes it?" She asked in a chipper tone.

"Not too bad. Just started training the new guy" Jace explained.

"Oh really now?" She asked curiously as she leaned over the counter to face Erik. "I'm Lewie. Don't even ask if that's a nickname or not, I'm not going to tell you. And you are..?" She asked.

"Oh. I'm Erik" He replied, extending his hand.

"Are you kidding me? Shaking hands? Give me a high-five Yo!" Lewie exclaimed excitedly. Erik reached his hand in the air and slapped her hand. "Sorry if that seemed a bit bitchy. That last bit. It's not so much that I am a bitch, moreso that I just sound sarcastic in everything I say" Lewie went on.

"It's true" Jace butted in. "But you'll learn all about us later" she said with a smirk. Erik smiled and quickly went to work.

"Hey. You did a pretty good job tonight considering it's your first night" Jace said as Erik and her grabbed their coats and walked toward the parking lot.

"Oh, thanks" Erik said as he rubbed his arm subconsciously.

"You just need to stop being so nervous. This job isn't nearly as hard as it looks. You caught the hang of it quite quickly" Jace told him.

"Oh. Okay. I'll try harder tomorrow" Erik said. Suddenly, he felt something slap his back. He turned sharply to see Lewie behind him.

"Lighten up, will ya?" She exclaimed "She's telling you that you did a good job and your acting like she's getting ready to bitch slap you or pistol whip you or something" Lewie finished with a witty tone of voice.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I just…I get really nervous sometimes" Erik forced himself to say.

"No shit" Lewie said bluntly.

"Oh leave him alone. He's fine. He'll end up being crazy like the rest of us soon enough. I remember a time when _you_ were quiet like he is" Jace butted in.

"You mean, Lewie was quiet once?" Erik asked with disbelief.

"Believe it or not, Everybody here was." Jace said.

"You weren't" Lewie retaliated.

"True" Jace said.

"Why is that then?" Lewie asked.

"I don't know…" Jace whispered and was quiet for a few moments. "Anyway" She said quickly, bringing her voice back to it's chipper tone. "Do you work tomorrow?" She asked Lewie.

"No I don't work again until Thursday" Lewie said.

"Oh. Well, I probably won't see you until Friday, I'm off Thursday" Jace replied.

"Okay. See you Friday" Lewie said as she walked toward her car. "Nice meeting you Erik!" She said, waving at the two of them. As they waved back, Jace turned to Erik.

"How about you? You work tomorrow?" She asked

"I think so…" Erik said, pulling a piece of paper out of his coat pocket. "Yeah. I do" he stated as he looked at the paper.

"Cool. So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Jace asked.

"Unless I die*" Erik replied

"Let's hope that doesn't happen! and you did good today. I think you'll be fine" She remarked. "Just uh…Don't think about outshining me sir" She finished.

"Sir?" Erik asked.

"Oh, Don't take it personally. I call _everybody_ sir*" She explained. "Well, I'll see you later" She said and got into her car, as she started it, she noticed Erik walk past the parking lot and off to the road. She pulled over next to him and rolled down her window.

"You don't have a car?" She asked. He stopped

"Well me personally…No. but my uh…Roommate does" Erik stated.

"I see. D'you need a lift?" She asked.

"Not...Not really. It's not that far of a walk and chances are it's in the opposite direction" Erik replied.

"Seriously?" Jace asked sarcastically. "Come on, if it's not that far then it's not a big deal"

"I…Uh…" Erik stuttered as he rubbed his arm.

"It's so cold out. Please let me give you a ride" She pleaded.

"Okay…" he said as he opened the passenger door. He put on his seatbelt and closed the door.

"So which way?" Jace asked.

"Left" Erik stated.

"Okay…" Jace said…

"Welcome back" Curtis said as he heard the front door slam shut. Erik took off his jacket and hung it up. "Your home early" Curtis stated.

"Hi" Erik said as he walked past the living room and into the bedroom "I got a ride" he quickly changed into a pair of black pants and a black t-shirt that said "Zombies: Eat Flesh*" in the classic Subway restaurant font. Then he walked into the living room and plopped down onto the couch next to Curtis. He gently kissed him on the cheek.

"How uh…How was work?" Curtis asked.

"It was great!" Erik replied. "I mean, sure, it's a really simply and tedious job, but it was actually kind of cool" he said.

"How so?" Curtis asked.

"Well, for starters, the food is really good there. I mean it's great! You really should come up there and visit sometime, you'd really like it" Erik insisted.

"Maybe I will" Curtis said.

"And my co-workers. They're fantastic! I've never worked with nicer people. Lewie is a total smartass but she's really kind and funny" Erik started explaining.

"Lewie is a girl?" Curtis asked confused.

"Well, yeah. She won't tell me if that's her real name or not. But yes, Lewie is a girl. And then there's *John, he acts like a total asshole, but fun to talk with…and Paul is an egotistical bitch….-"

"Paul's a girl too?" Curtis asked.

"Yeah. Her full name is Paulina, but she hates it, so she goes by Paul. I mean, I bet she'd be nicer if John wasn't around as often as they seem to fight a lot.. And there's George who is a really sweet guy, very quiet until he talks to the customers and Rich-"

"Your co-workers seem-" Curtis began, Erik cut him off

"And Jace.." he said

"Jace?" Curtis asked.

"Yes. Jace. It's short for… Jacqueline. But she doesn't like her full name and hates Jackie even more" Erik explained.

"Oh" Curtis said.

"She's the sweetest person I've ever met. She's got black hair with purple and blue highlights. She's short, but it doesn't seem to mind, she's sweet. She knows when to make a joke and when to be serious. She's patience with everybody around her, she knows just the right thing to say. She is the-"

"Hey did you eat dinner?" Curtis asked, cutting him off.

"No. I haven't. You?" Erik asked back in reply.

"No. I'll go pick something up" Curtis said, glad he could change the subject. "Anything sound good?" He asked. Erik looked at him with a smirk on his face.

"Are you really asking me if any food sounds good?*" he asked with a smart tone. Curtis laughed.

"Alright, alright, I get it" Curtis said. He grabbed his coat and was out the door.

Curtis shook his head in disbelief as he got into the car.

"Really?" he asked himself. "Is Erik really gonna sit there and tell me about this girl like it's no big deal? He clearly likes her" he rambled…then stopped himself for a moment "But…I mean…He did make a move on me first at the theater… and it's not like he can't tell I like him. I wouldn't have let him into my life if I didn't like him…I mean… I really want to be with him. But if he's gonna sit there and make a move on her…" Curtis stopped talking for a moment. He was thinking a mile a minute. He didn't know what to think. "Should I even bother getting upset about this? I mean, after all, it could be just a friend to him…." Curtis thought "But then again, people don't talk about other people like that unless they really like them…" Curtis trailed off as he pulled into the nearest fast food restaurant. It happened to be McDonalds. He ordered some food and drove home. "I just…If I jump the gun he might not trust me or even want to be with me anymore…but If I don't do anything he might end up cheating on me. Or even leaving me to be with her…I….I just…" Curtis pulled the car into the driveway and sat for a moment.

"I just don't want to lose him…" Curtis whispered so he could barely hear himself speak. Then he grabbed the food and went into the house.

A week passed and Erik still hadn't quit his job. In fact, he'd been so much more excited to go to work rather than stay at home. Curtis was slightly aggravated by this, but continued to try to force himself to get over his paranoia. He let Erik for what seemed like hours on end about his co-workers, about Jace…and never said a word. He simply forced himself to deal with it…after all…he loved Erik…didn't he?

After work that night, Erik, Lewie, John and Jace decided to go out for a bit. It was harmless. It was a nice way to relax after such a long day at work. The four of them walked in. John settled himself into the arcade, happy to challenge the Galaga machine*. Lewie and Jace grabbed a table, sat their stuff down and disappeared into the crowd. Erik pulled up a chair to the bar and ordered himself a drink. He said there in solicitude.

_Everybody's looking for love, oh…_

He watched Jace from afar. She was dancing out by John, who had decided to leave the arcade for a little while. She looked happy, excited, carefree even.

"They dated for a short time you know?" Lewie said. Taking a seat next to Erik.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Yeah. John and Jace. They dated. It seemed like it was a while too…Like a couple years maybe…I don't really know…but they still dated. They were very serious too" Lewie explained.

_Ain't that the reason your at this club?…_

"How so?" Erik asked.

"He wanted to marry her. He bought the ring and everything" Lewie told him.

"What happened then?" he asked, staring at Jace. She seemed genuinely happy with John.

"She said no. Couldn't handle being in that kind of relationship with him…said she was saving herself for somebody else it seemed like…said something about a Doctor* or something like that. I wasn't there for the conversation, I moreso…heard it through the grapevine" Lewie said.

"Oh" Erik. He watched as John left the dance floor and headed toward the arcade yet again.

"Jace doesn't really like to talk about it much, and they both act like nothing happened. Well, Jace definitely does anyway. Which is funny…I know they met…like high school or something like that, and were really good friends and all that and they'd dated a bit…but then she left for a bit and it was like she'd never met him in her whole life…he really did care about her…" Lewie blathered on.

"Yeah?" Erik asked.

"He made her fall in love with him all over again. He was very serious about her, but it didn't work out and that was the end of it. Now they're just friends. They joke with each other a lot and go places but other wise that's it"

"I see" Erik said, focusing all his attention on Jace.

_You ain't gonna find it dancing with him, no. Got a better solution for you girl…_

Erik took a gulp of his drink and walked away from Lewie. He went over to Jace and stood by her.

"Hey party animal" Jace joked as she danced by him. He smiled slightly.

"Hey" he said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Jace stopped dancing. Erik shook his head, and without a second thought, cupped Jace's face in his hands and kissed her.

_Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go. I'll be your teacher, I'll show you the ropes. You'll see a side of love you've never know…I can see it going down…_

"Please don't hate me…." Erik whispered to her as he reeled back from his kiss. His mistake.

"Why.." Jace started quietly. Erik tried to prepare himself for the worst. "Would I hate you…?" She asked. Erik grabbed her hand and they walked out toward the car.

"Let's go" Erik said and they drove off. To Jace's apartment complex, up the stairs, to her door, into her bedroom. On her bed.

Together.

They kissed.

They held each other close.

It was a fantastic experience between the two of them, both with each other, both sharing a close, deep love… a closeness that could not be separated so easily…

_In my head. I see you all over me in my head. You fulfill my fantasy in my head. You'll be screaming…in my head, in my head, in my head…_

Erik woke up.

He was laying in next to Curtis, who was sleeping soundly at the far end of the bed. He sat himself upright and looked at the clock. It was 3 AM yet again. He looked around the room and yawned. He didn't feel like getting up. He didn't really feel like doing anything. So he scooted closer to Curtis and nudged him gently.

"Hmmmph?" Curtis mumbled drowsily.

"Curtis?" Erik asked quietly. Curtis made a sound. "Will you hold me please? I had a dream…" Erik explained in a shaky voice.

"Mmmhmm…'ome her…e" Curtis muttered in a groggy, almost completely asleep tone. Erik scooted closer to Curtis and lifted his left arm around him. Then he nestled himself as close to Curtis as he could get. He brought the blankets up around himself and wrapped his arms around Curtis. Soon he found himself sinking back into sleep.

It was the next morning. Erik woke up first. Things seemed…quiet. It was to be expected on a early Sunday morning. He climbed out of bed as slowly as he could so as not to disturb Curtis and went to the kitchen. He decided to make breakfast for a change, since Curtis was usually the one that had to drag him out of bed and force him to eat. It didn't take long for Curtis to wake up to the smell of bacon sizzling on the stove. His eyes fluttered open and he crawled out of bed. He stumped into the kitchen and sat at the table.

"You're making breakfast?" Curtis asked.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" Erik asked in a smart tone as he poured Curtis a cup of coffee.

"No" Curtis said "I'm just…." he paused for a moment "Pleasantly surprised. That's all" he finished and smiled at Erik

"Good. I felt like doing something nice for once" Erik admitted. "You're always getting up and making be breakfast, I thought it was time I returned the favor" he went on. Curtis sat patiently as Erik made food. It was a large, elegant breakfast. Scrambled eggs, apple wood smoked bacon, Chocolate chip pancakes, golden hash browns, the works. Curtis dug in happily as Erik sat by and ate his own food. It was a few minutes later before Curtis piped up.

"Are…you…working today?" Curtis asked, mouth half full of food.

"Nope. I have the next two days off" Erik said. Curtis shook his head and went back to his breakfast. Erik sat at his spot lost in thought. He didn't hit reality again until Curtis coughed.

"What?" Erik asked as he shook himself out of his thoughts.

"I didn't say anything. I just coughed. Whatcha thinking about?" Curtis asked.

"Let's go out… Tonight. Just you and me" Erik stated.

"Um…Okay?" Curtis said taken aback. "What'd you have in mind?" he questioned.

"A club, a bar, anything." Erik affirmed. "I want to go out" Erik was blunt.

"Well alright!" Curtis exclaimed happily. Erik was acting different today, happier. Peppier. Somehow changed. Curtis wasn't sure what to think. Together they looked until they found a place. They planned. And as soon as it got dark, they went out.

_Some dudes know all the right things to say…_

"So…Can I ask a question?" Curtis asked as they got out of the car and walked into the club.

"Sure" Erik said.

"Why did you want to go out tonight? I'm not complaining or anything, I'm just curious. It was really…well.. Out of nowhere" Curtis said.

"No reason. I just wanted to do something together. That's all. We should be able to just go out without there being a reason." Erik responded.

"Oh. Okay" Curtis said flatly. They walked in and went to the counter. "Now what?" Curtis asked.

"Get a drink. I'm buying. In fact, get whatever you'd like. I'm treating you for a change" Erik said with a smile.

"Alright. If you insist" Curtis smiled back and ordered a drink.

"I do insist. Just get something" Erik smiled.

_When it comes down to it, it's just a game._

A few minutes later, Curtis got his drink. Erik got his own drink as well. Erik took a gulp of his drink.

"Let's go dance" Erik suggested.

"Really?" Curtis asked, taken aback.

"Yeah. Sure, why the hell not?" Erik said with a smirk. Curtis shook his head in disbelief

"Alright! I'll try anything once" Curtis exclaimed. Erik took Curtis's hand and drug him out onto the floor.

_Instead of talking let me demonstrate… _

Curtis danced under the lights and Erik tried to catch the swing. The music had deep bass. He was never much good at dancing. Still, he wanted to show Curtis a good time, and this seemed like the kind of thing he'd be into. The song ended and Curtis stopped dancing.

"I'm going to go get another drink, okay?" Curtis said and he left the dance floor. Erik also stopped.

"Okay, See you in the arcade" Erik said, then paused. He grabbed Curtis by the sleeve of his shirt "Hey. Wait a second. Does this seem…familiar to you?" he asked. Curtis thought for a second. He shook his head.

"Um…No. It doesn't. you feeling alright?" Curtis asked with a smirk. Erik shook his head.

"Yeah…I'm fine. Must be déjà vu" Erik said, changing his demeanor. "I'm going to hit the arcade for a few, okay? I'll be back by the next song" Erik stated.

"Promise?" Curtis asked.

"I promise" Erik assured. They went their separate ways.

Erik sat down. This was all starting to feel very familiar. Like it'd happened before. Curtis had his drink and walked back onto the dance floor. He watched Curtis dance in awe. He'd never truly noticed how slender Curtis really was. How he moved so smoothly. That was what he loved about Curtis. Aside from the fact that Curtis helped him when he had nothing, he loved that he kept learning new things about Curtis everyday. Even when he wasn't trying to.

_Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go. I'll be your teacher I'll show you the ropes…_

Things, Erik would admit, had been tough recently. Curtis seemed to be pulling father away from him. Did Curtis realize he'd make a mistake with him? Was Curtis finally realizing that he was no good? Was Curtis trying to find a way to get rid of him? Erik couldn't tell anymore. He'd only noticed Curtis's strange behavior since he started working. Did him having a job have something to do with Curtis's odd actions?

_You'll see a side of love you've never known. I can see it going down… _

Curtis stopped dancing and sat down next to Erik.

"You feeling okay?" He asked. Erik turned toward him

"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine" Erik said.

"What's up?" Curtis asked.

"Oh…nothing" Erik lied.

"Something on your mind?" Curtis asked.

"Yes and no" Erik stated.

"Oh?" Curtis asked.

"Yeah" Erik admitted. Why was Curtis so curious all of a sudden? Erik didn't bother to find out. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "You still love me right?" He blurted out.

"What?" Curtis was taken aback.

"You are still in love with me, aren't you?…" Erik trailed off for a second. "I mean…things have just felt weird between us and I still love you and everything. I just hope that you don't want to get rid of me…that's all…" Erik admitted. Curtis looked at Erik. He took his right hand in his and placed the other on Erik's cheek.

"Oh Erik. Of course I still love you. But you've changed since we first met and I don't like it" Curtis admitted.

"I have?" Erik asked. Curtis paused for a moment as he started to tear up.

"Please Erik…" Curtis choked on his words. "Don't leave me for Jace…I know you like her…but…please…" Curtis fought to talk. "I love you" he confessed. Erik was lost for words.

"I….Curtis… I love you too" He brought Curtis into a tight embrace. "I don't know why you think I'd leave you for Jace…" Erik said.

"I just…it's complicated" Curtis said as he unlocked himself from Erik's hug. "But the bottom line is I love you…so let's just go, okay?" Curtis asked. Erik sat quietly for a while as he tried to think.

"Can we both just agree we feel the same way for each other? I'm tired of jumping through hoops to show our love" Erik said a little irritated. Before Erik could realize what was happening, Curtis was kissing him passionately.

"Let's go…Please?" Curtis whispered. Erik nodded

"Let's go home" Erik whispered. And they left hand in hand.

_In my head. I see you all over me in my head. You fulfill my fantasy in my head. You'll be screaming… In my head, in my head, in my head…_

Erik bolted upright. He was in bed. It was still dark he looked around. Curtis was sleeping peacefully next to him.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" He cursed quietly so as not to disturb Curtis. He threw off the covers and climbed out of bed. He stormed out of the room.

The next morning he walked into work. Paul, Jace and Lewie were already there. John walked in shortly after Erik arrived. Jace saw him.

"Hey!" She called out to him. "Stay out of my dreams!" She exclaimed as he walked in.

"Um…Excuse me?" Erik asked in a confused tone.

"I had a dream last night and you were in in. Stay out of my dreams" She repeated.

"Um…Okay then" Erik said. He thought for a second. "Hey wait a second. If anybody should be complaining, it should be me! You invaded my sleep!" Erik exclaimed.

"Oh?" Jace said with a smirk.

"Yeah!" he smiled back, calming down as he realized Jace was joking with him. Jace sat down and Erik joined her.

"Alright, so listen to this. You, me, John, and Lewie went out to after work one night and you and Lewie chatted for a while. Then me and Lewie danced a bit. I remember John running off to the arcade-"

"Oh? How typical of me. Let me guess. I was playing-" John started.

"Galaga. Of course" Jace laughed.

"Obviously" John replied.

"Anyway" Jace went on "After a while, you tried to make a move on me!" She exclaimed to Erik. "We must have been smashed or something because we ended up going home together" Jace laughed. Erik put on a fake smile.

"Yeah…Probably drunk…" He said quietly.

"So what was your dream about?" Jace asked in curiosity. Erik tried to think up something else to say. He didn't want Jace to know he'd dreamt the exact same thing.

"Uh…I don't remember" he lied.

"Bullshit" Jace exclaimed.

"No! I uh…really… I tend to forget them easily" Erik tried to cover.

"Ah, just leave him alone, will ya?" Lewie jumped in the conversation. "Let's just get this shit done, no? I've got a hot date with a movie theater floor" She explained.

"The floor called. It's dumping you" John joked as he passed by them.

"Bug off. You're just jealous because you don't get to see "The Hobbit" with me" Lewie said as she walked out the door. John flicked up both middle fingers at her as she walked out the door. Everybody laughed as they went to work

It was a cold, cold, wet night when Erik walked out of work. No Jace beside him. No Lewie to make him feel better. Nobody. He began to wonder. If maybe, just maybe, it had all been a dream. A disillusion that no one could replace. Had he dreamed the whole thing? Jace? Been nothing more than a memory of what he thought he wanted. Had Lewie been a memory to simply back him up? The fact that his dreams and reality were starting to run together only made things worse. He couldn't help but wonder anything. He couldn't even help but wonder what Curtis thought. Curtis? It seemed that Curtis wanted nothing more than to ruin him. But that's not how Curtis was. And Erik knew that. So why did it matter what Curtis thought? Why would Curtis do something like this anyway? Why would Curtis drive Erik, completely, absolutely, mad? Unless, that's what he was doing to Curtis….

Erik hadn't really realized but Curtis was beginning to feel very distant from Erik. All Curtis could feel anymore for Erik was sadness. Because he felt he was losing his one true love. Curtis loved Erik dearly, and he thought Erik knew that. With the way things were going lately, all he could feel was sadness and regret. And fear that he was losing his true love. To Jace. Jace, who he'd never met. But he'd only heard of in Erik's many numerous, numerous stories, seemed like a nice person, but maybe not what he'd had in mind.

Erik, however, wanted nothing more than to be friends with Jace. And he wanted Curtis know that he loved him. With everything that was going on, how was anybody going to do anything? How was Erik going to just stay friends with Jace? How was he going to prove to Curtis that he's not cheating on him? And more importantly, How was Curtis going to get Erik back?

A week later, Erik found himself looking at the clock as he walked back into the kitchen. Jace walked by a few seconds later. She started at him as he worked quietly. They were the only two in the kitchen. Jace looked at him oddly.

"Hey!" she said.

"Huh?" Erik asked.

"Knock it off!" she exclaimed.

"Knock what off?" Erik asked, still unsure of what was going on.

"Stop being emo!*" She snapped at him.

"How am I being emo?" he asked.

"You haven't said a word all day. Should I be concerned you brought a gun with you today?" Jace asked.

"I'm just…I'm tired…and I'm trying to get things done. Plus, you know, I'm trying this new thing where I don't piss of anybody or say anything that might fuck me over" Erik explained.

"Oh…And uh…gun, should I be concerned?" Jace asked again.

"No. No gun. I'm not like that" Erik said.

"Oh good. I was beginning to wonder" Jace trailed off "But um.. If you need to talk, let me know, okay?" Jace said.

"Yeah, Alright…" Erik trailed off as Jace walked out of the kitchen

It was nearing two. He'd went in to work at five AM when his phone had rang, waking Curtis in the process, asking him to come in. He didn't usually work mornings, but hell, since he hadn't been getting much sleep anyway, if any, he figured he mine as well make some money. Fifteen more minutes and he could leave. Go home. Go to Curtis. Try to, once again, speak his mind to Curtis, tell him what was really going on.

"Erik watch out!" John hollered as he turned to see Erik walk right into Lewie. The trays of dirty dishes they had collided, causing a mess of broken cups and various juices to spill all over her.

"Nice going! Look, I know you were staring goo-goo eyes at me and all, but I'm just not that into you" Lewie said sarcastically as she tried to wipe off the food that was stuck to her clothes.

"I…I'm…Suh-Sorry" Erik stuttered. Jace walked in as Lewie regained her demeanor and Erik collected his things.

"What's wrong?" Jace asked as Erik walked by. He looked exhausted.

"We just had a collision" Lewie explained.

"Oh" Jace said. Erik looked up to the clock.

"Oh thank god…." Erik trailed off.

"What?" Lewie asked. Erik walked to the coat rack and grabbed his jacket.

"I was starting to wonder if this day would ever end. I'm out of here guys" Erik pulled on his jacket and walked out of the kitchen. He went to the copy room, clocked out, and made his way to the door. As he got ready to walk out he heard a voice.

"Hey Erik! Over here! I've been looking for you for ten minutes!" Erik spun around. It was Curtis. He was sitting at a booth over by the window. Erik slowly walked over to the booth.

"I thought we could have lunch out. And you've said the food is pretty good here, so I figured I'd just meet you up here" Curtis said kindly. Erik nodded.

"Uh…Yeah…okay" he said. Curtis looked at him confused.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"Just…tired. You know, working an AM shift, not used to it and all" Erik half lied.

"Ah. Understood. Well sit down!" Curtis smiled. Erik tried to smile. It'd seemed like forever since he'd seen Curtis smile. How he missed Curtis's smile. So Erik sat down. Pulled his coat off and sat it down next to himself. He looked around. He'd never actually eaten at the restaurant, even before he'd been hired. He looked around and was just able to spot the kitchen. He could see John, Paul, Lewie and Jace all staring at him. George was serving a table next to him when he stopped by.

"Hey. Thought you were going home" he said.

"Meh. I decided to have lunch" Erik tried to act happy. He was tired, but he didn't need anybody freaking out about him. _anybody. _

"Ah. Okay. Have fun" George walked away.

"So how are you today?" Curtis asked. He was a little tired, but he knew Erik was worse.

"Oh um…alright." Erik said "You?"

"Just a bit tired, otherwise okay" Curtis replied.

"Oh…Sorry about that. I didn't mean to wake you up" Erik apologized as he rubbed his arm.

"Dude, it's fine. Really" Curtis said. Sounding more like he did when they'd first met. Why was Curtis having this sudden change of heart? "Your doing it again" Curtis said, bringing Erik out of his odd daze.

"Huh?" He asked, caught off guard.

"Your rubbing your arm again. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Curtis asked. Erik looked down. Curtis was right, he had been rubbing his arm.

"I..I'm fine" Erik lied. He looked around.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to our quaint little restaurant!" came a happy, chipper, female voice. Erik closed his eyes. There she stood, her short stature, her long brown hair in a pony tail. "My name is Jace and I'll be your server today" She said happily.

_Oh no. Not Jace, let me be dreaming. Anyone but Jace… _

Erik looked at Curtis, and put his head in his hands. Things could not go worse.

"Hey Erik! I thought you were going home?" She asked. Scratch that. They just got worse. Erik looked up, he put on a fake smile.  
"Oh yeah…I just really like you all that much, you know how it is" he said, trying to add a fake laugh.

"So your Jace!" Curtis exclaimed, a smile across his face.

"Oh yes. I'm the infamous Jace. And you must be…."

"Curtis" he said as he offered her a hand. She shook it.

"Nice to meet you Curtis" Jace said

"You too" Curtis replied

"Whatever he's told you, it's a lie" Jace joked.

"Oh okay. I'll have to keep that in mind" Curtis replied happily.

"Sooo…What can I get for you guys today?" Jace asked, changing the topic. Curtis thought for a moment.

"I think I'll get the steak and potatoes. Cooked medium. Side of bacon would be excellent" Curtis said, handing the menu to Jace.

"Same thing" Erik said, not looking at Jace as he handed her his menu.

"Alright" Jace said, and walked away. Curtis waited a few minutes.

"She seems nice" he said.

"Huh?" Erik asked confused.

"I said that she seems nice" Curtis repeated himself.

"Oh. Yeah" Erik said.

"So. It makes sense why you like her so much" Curtis said.

"What?" Erik asked.

"You like her. It makes sense why" Curtis said.

"Oh" Erik was quiet.

"So. When are you going to make a move on her?" Curtis asked.

"What? I'm not going to" Erik stated.

"Why not? You like her so much" Curtis replied.

"Because….I'm with you" Erik went on.

"Really? I hadn't noticed" Curtis was beginning to get a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"What are you getting at?" Erik asked

"Oh nothing.." Curtis said in a humming tone. Erik sighed and shook his head.

"So um…I had a dream about us the other night" He said.

"Oh?" Curtis asked, changing his tone a bit.

"Yeah…." Erik trailed off. He knew he shouldn't have brought up the dream, but Curtis's tone just made him not want to talk about it that much more.

"Well? What was it about?" Curtis asked.

"Oh um…Well…You and me went to a club…and we just partied" Erik said, trying not to make him angry.

"I see. Sounds like fun" Curtis admitted.

"And we uh…talked" Erik stated.

"About?" Curtis questioned.

"Us" Erik responded. Curtis said nothing. He just stared at Erik. A few moments later, their food arrived. Lunch was quiet between the two of them. Erik tried not to look up to Curtis, who seemed somewhat angry. But somehow, like he was trying to keep his cool in public. Suddenly, Curtis stood up.

"I'll be back….restroom…" he muttered as he walked away.

"Hey Erik!" A voice called. He sighed and closed his eyes. _Now what? _he thought to himself. Then Lewie was standing by the table.

"Hey! We were just making jokes in the kitchen" she explained in a chipper tone.

"Oh yeah?" Erik asked, changing his demeanor as he looked up.

"Yeah. And we were playing the impersonation game" she replied.

"Bet you won that" Erik stated as he looked around for Curtis.

"Damn right I did" she snapped.

"How?" he asked, trying to act intrigued.

"Like this!" she said and she began to rub her arm and seem anti-social. "Oh…Luh-look at muh-me. I-I-I'm always so vuh-very nervous and I uh..huh-have a hu-hu-huge cru-crush on Juh-Jace I dr-dream about her a-ah-all the tuh-time" Lewie stuttered playfully. Erik's face turned red.

"You do huh?" a voice exclaimed loudly. Erik looked behind Lewie. There stood Curtis, his face etched with anger.

"Curt-" Erik began.

"No. You know what?" Curtis said, fury in his voice. He grabbed his things, fished his keys out of his jacket pocket and threw some money on the table. Then he pointed at Erik. "You can go fuck yourself" he scolded and with that, he stormed out of the restaurant. Erik watched as Curtis stomped to his car and sped out of the parking lot. Erik looked over to Lewie in anger. Then, without a word, he calmed down.

"I..I'm sorry dude. I didn't know…" She said, trying to grasp her mind out what had just happened.

"It's fine…" Erik lied. He grabbed his coat. "I'll see you later" he said in a flat tone. He walked out and around the building into the back door. He snuck into the break room. Then he tossed his coat over to the table and reached for the phone. He quickly dialed Curtis's cell phone. No answer. Again. It rang twice, then no answer. Once more. Straight to voicemail. "Curtis…please pick up…you don't understand. I have been having a lack of sleep….and I have been dreaming about you!…it's just…Come on Curtis, at least give me a chance to talk things over with you! Come on! Please pick up…" Erik leaned up against the wall. "Please Curtis…I love you. Jace is just a friend…please…." Erik hung up the phone and slid to the floor. He put his knees up and buried his head in his arms. He was tired. He was hurt. He was downright miserable. But still, he couldn't cry. He just wanted to melt into nothingness.

Quite a few hours had passed when Erik faintly heard footsteps.

"Erik?" a voice asked, pulling him out of his semi-sleep. It was Jace. "What are you doing on the floor? I thought you went home" she asked as she helped him up.

"Eh…no.." he mumbled drowsily. "I didn't want to make Curtis even madder at me"

"Oh. So, do you feel like explaining this to me or do I have to tell you how much I know?" Jace asked. Erik shrugged.

"Guess" he said. "Because let's face it. You seem to have a knack for knowing everything I do or think" he admitted, thinking back about the time when they'd dreamt the same dream. Jace thought a moment.

"Alright, so let me think…" she said. "Curtis…he's your brother?" Jace asked. Erik shook his head. "Is he even related to you?" she paused. "Wait. No…he's not" she answered herself. "Roommate?" she asked.

"You could say that" Erik said flatly. Jace thought a bit longer. Then she stopped. Her jaw dropped as she came to the reality of the situation.

"Your gay!" she shrieked. Erik nodded.

"More or less…" he trailed off.

"I don't know how I could have been so blind. And Curtis….oh Curtis is your boyfriend!' She exclaimed. Jace couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before. Erik simply nodded.

"And now he's mad at me" he said.

"Why?" Jace asked. Erik sighed. "You know what? I'm off in ten, let's carry this conversation on at my house, okay?" she suggested.

"Yeah…okay" Erik agreed.

"Meet me by my car…actually, here's the keys so you can get it warmed up for us" Jace said as she went back to work.

It was dark now. Jace and Erik were just getting out of the car and to her house. Jace went to her room, changed and went back to the living room, where Erik was sitting on the couch.

"So okay. Explain this thing to me, because I want to help" Jace said as she sat down.

"You want to help?" Erik asked.

"Yeah. I do. Speak" She said flatly.

"Well. It's a long story. So get comfortable" Erik sighed.

"Dammit" Erik scoffed as he sat up on the chair and a half beside Jace's couch. Hours had passed since Erik had explained everything to Jace.

"What's wrong?" Jace asked tiredly as she woke up.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you" Erik apologized.

"It's alright. What's the matter?" Jace asked once more.

"I just had a dream…" Erik began

"About Curtis?" Jace cut in.

"Yeah" Erik finished.

"What about?" Jace asked.

"We just talked. That's all. I feel like it's impossible to talk to him anywhere aside from my dreams" Erik admitted. "And I don't even know why I bother now, it's not like he wants me back. Probably for the best too, I'm meant to be alone…" Erik went on. Jace sighed.

"Erik. Can I tell you a story?" Jace asked. Erik shrugged.

"Sure" he said bluntly.

"*I met a man some time ago. He always traveled. That was his profession, his life, his everything. He went anywhere and everywhere, yet he wasn't happy. So every now and then, he would make friends. He would let them travel with him. So he wasn't so alone. And it made him happy. Then, everything would be okay. Even just for a little while.." Jace paused.

"What happened?" Erik asked in a quiet tone.

"Things didn't last. His friends outgrew him. They had their fun, and knew it was time to move on, to face reality. And he was alone once again. There was nothing he could do but stay. Stay friendless, stay traveling, stay loveless" Jace finished her story, choking back what sounded like a muffled sob.

"So what does that have to do with me?" Erik asked. Jace sighed.

"If you don't go and get Curtis back now, you'll lose him forever. And you'll be just like him, you'll end up alone just like that man" Jace stated. Erik looked back at her with sad eyes. "Look. I don't know your full story, but I have a feeling you and Curtis were made for each other" Jace said as she took both of his hands in hers. "Please…For your sake. For Curtis's sake…go, be with him" She told him. Erik took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thank you" he said as he gave Jace a hug.

"Now let's get you home!" She exclaimed

It was late into the night. Curtis was sitting on the couch. Erik was silent as he opened the door. Curtis turned around to see him hanging up his coat.

"Erik! Your back!" Curtis exclaimed.

"Curtis?" Erik was confused. "Well, look…Listen, I'm sor-" Erik was cut off mid sentence. Curtis had practically jumped into his arms and placed a kiss on Erik's lips.

"Save it" Curtis said quickly. "Your home. I'm horny, let's fuck" Curtis's voice was seductive.

"Well damn, Why don't you say how you really feel there Curtis?" Erik said blatantly.

"I'm being serious" Curtis told him.

"Wait. So we're good?" Erik asked in a confused tone. He couldn't understand it. Hadn't Curtis been mad at him earlier? Hadn't he basically wanted to punch Erik and leave him high and dry? Curtis dragged him by the arm to his bedroom.

_Your love is nothing I can't fight… _

Curtis mumbled something that Erik didn't quite hear, so he simply assumed that Curtis had said yes. Curtis began to kiss him feverishly. It wasn't long before Erik melted into the excitement. Soon, he was kissing Curtis back. Then, clothes began to fly. A shirt here, pants there. A war between buttons and fingers. Still, passionate kissing continued.

_Can't sleep with the man who dims my shine…_

Erik pushed and Curtis pulled, to the bed they went. One atop the other. It was a strange feeling, Erik thought, to feel the way that he did. Wanting this more than ever, but yet, feeling wrong. As if he didn't deserve this in the first place. Curtis hungrily kissed him. Erik fought to keep up with Curtis's lips. There was something missing. Something he couldn't quite place.

"Wait" Erik whispered as he pushed Curtis away from him momentarily. Erik leaned over and turned the radio on quickly.

"Eww. Lady GaGa" Curtis mentioned hastily.

"Shut up, I like this song" Erik stated.

"Fine" Curtis replied. Erik rolled himself back over into Curtis's arms. Curtis began to kiss Erik. Erik only kissed him right back.

_I'm in the bedroom, with tissues and when I know your outside banging, then I won't let you in. _

For once in a long time, everything was alright. Things were back to normal. There wasn't anything to worry about, anything to fight over. Just the love between them. Yet, Erik still felt like something was wrong.

_Cause it's a hard life, with love in the world... _

Curtis weaseled himself closer to Erik, then, inside him.

"You like that?" Curtis whispered in his ear.

"Yes" Erik responded in an unsure tone. he liked everything. Yet, he didn't at the same time. Something was strange.

"Say you love me" Curtis's tone was seductive. Erik's heart dropped. Sure, he loved him, but did he love him like he use too?

"I..." Erik stopped himself, debating what to say. the song's lyrics ringing in his head.

_I'm a hard girl, loving me's like chewing on pearls..._

Erik moved his arm just enough to bump the radio's volume, drowning out Curtis's question. Erik forced himself to push the thought aside.

"You really like this song?" Curtis asked as he kissed Erik's perfectly smooth back.

"It...It gets me horny" Erik lied, liking the song more for the lyrics in some ways than anything.

"Ah. I can understand why, the lyrics are kind of hot" Curtis said.

_You've got me wondering why I, I like it rough, why I like it rough, why I like it rough.. _

Curtis slid his hands down Erik's front, making his insides tingle with confusing delight.

_Won't go without my fix tonight, it's a little too rough…_

A pleased moan escaped Erik's lips. Everything was going well. Finally, there wasn't any fighting, there wasn't any hatred, no jealousy, nothing. Just closeness between two lovers.

_Cause it's a hard life, with love in the world. I'm a hard girl loving me's like straightening curls… _

Erik tried to think admit the pleasure, but was coming up empty. All he could think about was the fact that Curtis was virtually silent. Come to think of it, he was pretty much quiet whenever they had sex. Was that normal? Was Erik simply being too loud?

"Am I not good enough?" Erik huffed in an almost silent voice.

"Shut up" Curtis replied bluntly. Erik tried to think longer, but couldn't bring himself to think. His thoughts were filled with music.

_You've got me wondering why I, I like it rough, why I like it rough, why I like it rough… _

It seemed like time passed ever so slowly for Erik. He was enjoying himself, yet, things weren't going as quickly as before. As more time passed, Erik's thoughts became less muddled.

_*You've got me wondering why I, I might give up, why I might give up, why I might give up… _

Erik thought for a moment. He knew that wasn't the lyric. He'd heard the song a million times before, he knew the words.

_I'm shiny and I know it, dunno why you want to blow it. Need a man who likes it rough, likes it rough._

Suddenly. The final moment. His body filled with an intensity high for a brief moment, then, relaxation. It was a short time later when Curtis finished. Going through regular motions, hopping off the bed, walking to the bathroom, the usual.

_You've got me wondering why I might give up…. _

It was then Erik realized it.

"I'm dreaming" he whispered as he climbed back into bed. That was the only thing that made sense to him. Nothing ever went this well. Ever. Curtis was only being nice to him because that's how he dreamed. He wanted Curtis to be nice to him again, because he hated what Curtis has turned into. A few minutes later, Curtis was out of the bathroom, and crawling into bed.

"Goodnight Erik" He said as he got himself comfortable. Erik sighed.

"Curtis?" Erik asked in a unsure tone.

"Yes?" Curtis asked.

"*Will you hold me?" Erik replied.

"Come here, I'll spoon you" Curtis laughed lightly. Erik scooted closer and let Curtis embrace him. "Night" Curtis said once again.

"Night Curtis" Erik replied. He didn't care anymore, he knew it was a dream. He knew that when he woke up in the morning, everything would go back to the way it was. There was nothing he could do. Nothing except, enjoy the dream for what it was. Take what was left of Curtis's love. Inside he wanted to break down, but he let himself fall asleep once again.

The next morning Erik woke feeling refreshed. He looked around. He was in Curtis's room. He shifted around in the bed to see that he was curled up next to Curtis, who was still asleep. Erik nudged him lightly.

Curtis stirred and woke up.

"Hey Erik" He said sleepily. Erik half smiled at him.

"Morning Curtis" he replied.

"Been awake long?" Curtis asked.

"No" Erik shook his head.

"How about breakfast?" Curtis suggested as he stretched his arms. Erik shrugged

"Okay" he said as he climbed out of bed. "Let me go change first?" He asked. Curtis nodded.

"I'll meet you in the kitchen" he said in a cheery tone. Curtis climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Erik walked out of the room and down the hall to his own bedroom. He shut the door behind him as he went to go change.

"What the heck is going on with him?" Erik said quietly to himself. It seemed weird that Curtis was being so nice to him all of a sudden. He thought for sure Curtis would hate him inside and out after what happened yesterday. Erik shrugged and grabbed some clothes before heading to his own bathroom to take a quick shower.

About fifteen minutes later Erik walked into the kitchen to see Curtis already working on making food. It looked like he was cooking eggs, bacon, hash browns and maybe some pancakes, Erik wasn't sure.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up!" Curtis laughed.

"Sorry. I decided to take a shower, I figured I wouldn't take too long" Erik said as he pulled a chair up to the table. "Do you need any help?" He offered.

"Nah, I'm almost done" Curtis said. Erik nodded and sat down. A few minutes later Curtis was putting the food at the table. "So, that was some night last night, huh?" Curtis said.

"What?" Erik asked confused.

"Last night. It sure was fun, wasn't it?" Curtis asked as he started filling his plate. Erik looked at him with even more confusion.

"What happened last night?" Erik asked.

"Were you drunk or something?" Curtis asked with a smirk. Erik shook his head. "Well, you came home from who knows where, and we had sex. It was a good night. Except for the fact that you wanted to listen to Lady Gaga while we did it" Curtis chuckled.

"You mean, it really happened?" Erik asked, quite unsure of the situation.

"What do you mean, it really happened?" Curtis asked.

"I thought that was just a dream…" Erik trailed off.

"Nope. That was real" Curtis said. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I…I'm fine" Erik said. Unsure if he really was. The rest of breakfast was silent as Erik was lost in thought.

It was later in the afternoon when Erik became frustrated. He was pacing around the living room when Curtis walked in. he stood at the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Like you don't know!" Erik shot back. Curtis was taken aback at Erik's suddenly harsh attitude.

"Is it about last night?" Curtis asked. Erik was downright overwhelmed. He wanted to tell Curtis that the night had been amazing, that it had been the best night of his life, but instead…

"Yes and no!" he shouted, stopping to realize how confusing that sounded. Curtis looked at him with an equally confused expression.

"Goddamit!" Curtis exclaimed. "I knew that it was too much. We shouldn't have had lunch together. I mean…I know you don't care what you eat…but…I wanted to do something special and different-"

"No! No! Dinner was….romantic…up until we started fighting anyway…I really had a good time" Erik's tone changed. Curtis was taken aback.

"Well if it was the sex then you can just-"

"Your Just…Too Pushy!" Erik admitted.

"What?" Curtis asked.

"Your too pushy. You've always been too pushy" Erik responded. "You want things to happen too quickly. I mean, ever since day one you've been… just… so damned pushy. You've wanted something to happen that neither of us are ready for" He tried to explain. Curtis thought for a moment

"Wait. What do you mean until we started fighting?" Curtis said, thinking back to the start of the conversation.

"I mean until we started fighting. Everything was manageable until we starting fighting and you walked out" Erik said.

*"Well we wouldn't have fought if you would have told me that you were in love with that Jace girl!" Curtis retaliated.

"Not this again" Erik sighed. "I don't love her!" He exclaimed.

"Bullshit! It's so obvious that you like her! You talk about her all. The. Time" Curtis stated.

"So? I can't just like her as a friend?" Erik asked.

"No. You can't. Because you're a guy. And she's a girl" Curtis retorted. "You could have told me you were going out with her. I wouldn't have made any moves on you" he finished.

"What? I'm not going out with her!" Erik exclaimed.

"Then why did Lewie say you were?" Curtis asked in a angry tone.

"Are you really going to go there? She was just joking around!" Erik was trying to keep his temper down as best as he could. "This is what I'm talking about! Your too pushy!" he stated, moving the fight back to it's original place.

"How am I too pushy?" Curtis retaliated.

"You want too much. You always want. Your too pushy and you don't know how to think of anybody but yourself!" Erik exclaimed.

"Oh? I don't? That's why you live here with me, why you get meals everyday, instead of being homeless and hungry?" Curtis was furious now.

"That's not what I mean!" Erik shouted.

"Then what?" Curtis shot back.

"Your always too pushy! Like, when you made me go back to get my things. You _knew _I didn't want to go, but you made me do it anyway! Then! Then, you found out about the nightmares, and ever since then you've babied me like some fricken child!" Erik hollered.

"So now you're mad because I care about you?" Curtis yelled. He felt more upset than angry now. He felt like tears were trying to form in his eyes.

"Why do you care anyway? It's not like you've actually known me that long! Why do you care? I'm not anything special!" Erik yelled.

"You are to me!" Curtis screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. Erik felt the hatred leave him. Inside, he wanted to stop fighting, but he couldn't, not now.

"Why? Why do you care so damned much?" Erik tried to fight on. Guilt welling inside him.

"Because I love you!" Curtis cried, tears starting to run down his face. Erik was taken aback.

"What?" he asked, his voice lined with shock.

"I. Love. You. I've loved you since I first saw you!" Curtis exclaimed. He was almost sobbing now. "When I first saw you, I was certain you were the one. Then, as I got to know you better, I realized you were _perfect_" Curtis said. "You were absolutely perfect. You still are! I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. That you really do exist!" Curtis shouted. "Erik. You made me feel again! You stopped me from being the biggest idiot in the world. You stopped me from killing myself! I wanted to die, and then I saw you. Erik, I'm happy when I'm with you. I'm complete with you, and I'm nothing without you" Curtis sobbed. Erik closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Look, Curtis I'm sor-"

"No. I love you, and if that's too much for you to handle, I have nothing more to say to you" Curtis said and stormed off to his room.

"No! Curtis! Wait!" Erik said. He knew he'd gone too far. Erik ran after Curtis, but Curtis pushed him away.

"No" Curtis said flatly. Erik stood in the hallway for a moment, then he went after Curtis again, but only met the harsh slamming of Curtis's door. Erik began to bang on it.

"Curtis! Curtis please! Open the door!" Erik hollered. Curtis kicked the bottom of the door in reply.

"Go away!" He shouted.

"Curtis! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please Curtis, just open the door!" Erik exclaimed. When he got no response, he backed away and then ran up against the door, trying to budge it.

"It won't work! Go away!" Curtis yelled. He walked over to the stereo. There was a stack of CDS on top of it, he picked the stack up and he began to toss case after case until he saw a black and tan case with the words "Linkin Park" and "Meteora" on it. He took the CD out and tossed the case. He opened the stereo and jammed the CD inside. He cranked the volume knob until it wouldn't go anymore. Erik was still standing outside of Curtis's room. He continued to bang on the door for a few minutes more before finally giving up.

"Well fuck you too!" Erik shouted and kicked the door. He stormed off to his room and grabbed his iPod and some headphones. Then he stormed to the front door, and walked out. Slamming it behind him.

Erik plugged his headphones into the iPod and wrapped them around his ears as he continued walking. He turned on the device and began to search through the music. Finally, he decided on a band. Linkin Park. He sifted through the albums before finally choosing one called "Meteora". Skipping right through the thirteen second song titled "Forward", he went right for song 2. Erik turned the volume up as far as it could go before finally jamming the iPod in his pocket.

_Sometimes I need to remember just to breathe.. _

He didn't care where he went. Hell, he didn't care if he ever saw Curtis ever again. Sure, it sounded bad, but how was he supposed to stay in love with someone who was a total bastard like that? Why did Curtis have to make everything so complicated?

_Don't stay… forget our memories, forget our possibilities. What you were changing me into.. _

Back home Curtis was still locked in his bedroom. The radio playing as loudly as possible.

"How could he do that to me? How could he be such an asshole!" he exclaimed, knowing there would be no answer. He was pacing back and forth. Tears streaming down his face. "That bastard! That inconsiderate jerk! I gave him everything!" He shouted between tears.

_Sometimes I feel like I trusted you too well. Sometimes I feel like just screaming at myself. _

Erik walked in a fast pace. He only slightly paid attention to where he was walking. A million thoughts going through his mind. Curtis was being an unbelievable douche bag. Curtis was, yet again, blowing things out of proportion. Why couldn't Curtis understand it? Why couldn't he just let things be? Why did Curtis have to press the issue? Erik sighed heavily.

_Somehow I_ _need to be alone…. _

Curtis began to throw things around the room. A picture frame here, a couple of CD cases there. Everything that came in contact with his hands met their fate against a wall.

"Why!" Curtis shouted in disbelief. "If anybody has a right to be pissed off it's me! He was practically cheating on me!" he shouted as he continued to throw things at the wall.

_I don't need you anymore. Don't want to be ignored, I don't need one more day, of you wasting me away with no apologizes…Don't stay… _

Meanwhile, Erik was still on his walk. He was just getting to song nine of the Linkin Park album he was listening to, the song was entitled "Breaking the Habit". It was then he decided it was time to head home.

Twenty minutes later, Erik walked in the door. He'd felt much better after his long walk. It was nice to blow off steam and really think about the situation.

"Curtis?" Erik called out, hanging his coat up and taking off his shoes. "I think we need to talk" Erik heard music playing. It was quiet at first. "Curtis? Where are you? I know you're here, your car is still in the driveway" Erik said aloud. As he walked down to Curtis's room the music got louder. It was rock music. Loud. Very loud. Very grungy. As he listened closer, getting to Curtis's room, he started making out lyrics in the music..

_I'm tired of being what you want me to be…_

Erik thought about the music, Then it hit him like a brick to the face. "Curtis!" Erik exclaimed as he ran to Curtis's room.

_Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface…_

The door was locked. He couldn't budge it "Curtis! Curtis open the door!" Erik banged on it heavily. Nothing. He tried running the door in. "Curtis please! Don't do this! Come on! We can work this out!" Erik pleaded. Erik kicked the door once more before he ran into the kitchen. He opened a drawer and dug around inside until he found a key. Then he ran back to Curtis's door and jammed the key in the lock.

_I don't know what you're expecting of me…. _

"I'm coming in weather you want me to or not!" Erik called out. He looked around, Curtis was nowhere to be found. He looked around, then he went to the bathroom door. He knocked on it loudly. "Curtis! Curtis are you in there? Open up!" No reply. Erik jiggled the door handle a bit until it clicked open. The door opened slowly.

_Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes. Every step that I take is another mistake to you… _

The floor was red with liquid. Deep, dark colored liquid. The radio was blaring loudly.

"Cur….Cuh…Curtis?" Erik choked feebly.

_I've become so numb, I can't feel you there…become so tired, so much more aware, I'm becoming this, all I want to do, is be more like me…and be less like you…. _

He stood frozen in place momentary as he took in the sight in front of him. There was Curtis, Propped up against the bathtub, In a pool of blood. His own blood. His skin was pale, almost sheet white. His whole body was limp. In one hand a razor blade. Both wrists revealed cuts. Deep deep cuts. Dark red blood dripped down his hands and onto the floor. Erik fell to his knees. Into the pool of blood. His whole body shook profusely as he reach for Curtis's face. He was icy to the touch.

_Memories consume… Like opening the wounds, I'm picking me apart again…. _

It felt like a million years before Erik forced himself to take his eyes off of Curtis's limp form and reach into his pocket for his phone. The screen only had a dim hue, signs that the phone was close to death. Erik sighed deeply and dialed 911, unsure of just how much longer the phone would last. It rang six times before a younger male voice picked up. Unfortunately, the voice on the other end was crackly and hard to understand. Erik fought on.

"Hello!" Erik exclaimed, hoping he didn't sound equally as crackly on the phone's other end. He waited for a few seconds, listening as the other end sounded like somebody was trying to talk to him.

_You all assume, I'm safe here in my room, unless I try to start again… _

"It's my…. He…suici..di…he's… dy..dyin…" Erik tried to speak, but everything he tried to stay was getting stuck in his throat. _Curtis dying? _the thought truly hadn't hit him until the words were literally in his mouth, like word vomit. Curtis could die, and it would be all his fault. A moment later, there was a sudden static sound, signal that the phone had died. Now what could he do? He didn't know anybody beside Curtis, Jace and Lewie. Erik knew that Jace was out of town, and would be impossible to reach, and Lewie…he never bothered to keep track of her, just like all his other co-workers. Chances are, they wouldn't understand the situation anyway. His only real hope was the hospital. But without a phone, he couldn't call the ambulance, and he didn't know how else he could really get to the hospital.

_I don't want to be the one the battles always choose… _

"I could drive him there!" Erik thought aloud. Sure, it wasn't the perfect idea, and sure, there's always a possibility he could get pulled over, but it sure beat trying to carry Curtis to the hospital. rushed back into the bathroom, and forced himself once again, look at Curtis's limp form. Even if everything else worked out, he would still have to at least get Curtis to the car and into it. Then get him to the hospital.

_Cause inside I realize, that I'm the one confused…_

Erik rushed back over to Curtis and put a hand to his neck. Erik felt a dull thump beneath his fingers. Curtis was, at least for the moment, still alive. But Erik had to work fast. He went over to the cupboard and grabbed a large towel, he tore it in half. Then he wrapped a side around each of his wrists. Erik hoped that would at least slow Curtis's bleeding until Erik could get him to a Doctor.

_I don't know what's worth fighting for, or why I have to scream. I don't know why I instigate, or say what I don't mean, I don't know how I got this way, I know it's not alright. So I'm breaking the habit… _

Erik bent down to the floor and carefully lifted Curtis up. Erik was surprised how light Curtis really was. So, in a quick thinking, Erik picked Curtis up off the ground and carried him to the car.

_Tonight…_

Erik was calm as he drove, which was surprising him, since he was thinking a million thoughts per second. Fortunately, one thing Erik was grateful for, is that he actually knew where the hospital was. So, while the driving felt like forever, he was able to get to the hospital quickly. Erik made no effort to park the car in the parking lot, instead he stopped at the front entrance and ran into the building. He went to the first person he saw and began to speak as quickly as he could.

"My friend…he's…he…tried…suicide…tried….tried to cut his….his wrists…he needs help….he's dying….please help…" Erik panicked as he spoke. But somehow, the nurse at the front desk understood what he was trying to say, and within a few minutes time, several doctor's were rushing out to Erik's car, pulling Curtis out of the front seat, and placing him on the hospital bed. Within a moment, Curtis was being raced off, to be taken away from him, to be helped by some doctor that he'd probably never met. Erik sighed heavily as he looked down the hall they had just taken Curtis down. He was alone with nothing but his ominous thoughts.

It had been at least two hours now, that Erik was in the waiting room. Still, nobody could give him any information about Curtis. In fact, the only person who had come out into the waiting room at all, was a manager who angrily forced him to move his car from it's current location of in front of the walk way to the parking lot like everybody else or have it be towed. Erik had listened and drove the car over into the parking lot, and then came back into the waiting room once more, and that had been nearly half an hour ago. Erik stood up and paced around the waiting room for a little while as he tried to calm himself down. It had been nearly another hour and a half before somebody finally showed up in the room. By that time, Erik had long since stopped pacing and was now sitting, holding his head in his hands, almost as if to keep himself from falling apart.

"Mr.. X-" the doctor began. Erik looked up, and quickly went over to greet the man.

"Erik" he said, as he extended a hand to the doctor. "How is he Doctor?" Erik said in a nervous tone. The doctor flipped through some paper's on a clipboard, before finally stopping at one and looking it over.

"Well…" The doctor trailed off.

"Well what?" Erik asked in a confused tone. The doctor sighed.

"Look. I don't know how to say any other way, so I'm just going to come out with it. Mr….- I regret to inform you…." The doctor started. Erik grew numb. He didn't need to hear anymore. He couldn't bring himself to listen. The doctor's words were muddled and drowned out in Erik's mind. Curtis was dead. Curtis was dead and it was all his fault. He started it. He yelled at Curtis. He ruined the one thing that made Curtis hold on. He couldn't save him. Erik couldn't save Curtis, and he had no one to blame but himself. If he would have just apologi- _No. _he though, it was long before that. If he would have never met Curtis, had never agreed to getting into the car, to never take any of his offers, then Curtis would still be alive. If he had just continued walking that day, and ignored Curtis's kindness, he'd still be alive. But it didn't matter now. Curtis's blood was on his hands, and he couldn't change it. Curtis was dead because of him, and nothing he could say or do would change that.

Erik jolted awake. He looked around. He back in the waiting room once more.

"It was…just a dream?" Erik asked himself. He looked around in disbelief. Everything had felt so…so real. Erik was in a state of confusion for a few minutes before he realized he hadn't ever moved his car. Taking a deep breath, he walked himself outside and went to the car. He apologized to the concierge at the front for leaving the car in such a hurry, and walked out to it quickly. Erik was able to find a parking spot for the car fairly easily. The only downside to the parking spot, was it was close to the end of the lot. Erik shook his head. He didn't care. It's not like he had something to do other than panic anyway, at least he could kill a few minutes of time by having to walk such a long distance.

By the time Erik had gotten back into the hospital, it had been at least a good six minute walk. He waved slightly to the concierge at the front desk. She waved back at him cheerily.

"Good. At least I know I'm not dreaming" he whispered to himself as he walked back into the waiting room. Just as he was starting to nod off once more, trying to block out the world around him, a doctor appeared.

"Are you Erik?" he asked. Erik nodded and stood up. He reached his hand out to the doctor, who shook his hand kindly.

"You're here with…." The doctor* looked through his clipboard paperwork, hoping to find a name.

"Um, I'm here for Curtis, Sir. I brought him in a couple of hours ago, he tried to kill himself" Erik said in an almost silent tone.

"How is he?" Erik was desperate for an answer.

"Oh yes!" the doctor exclaimed. "Well, we ran a few tests on him, but rest assured, he will be alright. It's just lucky you brought him in when you did, any later, and he might not have made it!" He exclaimed. Erik practically lost his balance. He couldn't believe it.

"Has he woken up at all?, can he have visitors?" Erik was ecstatic, he had to see Curtis, had to apologize for everything that happened.

"Alright, Alright! Relax. He hasn't woken up yet, but we did just get him out of *ICU about an hour or so ago, so it'll be a while still until he wakes up. But you are more than welcome to sit with him until then" the doctor suggest.

"Really?" Erik asked. The doctor nodded.

"His room is this way" the doctor said as he led Erik down the small hallway. They made a short left turn, and down a slightly longer hall. Moments later, the doctor stopped in front of a door. "Alright. My only request is that if he does wake up, or rather, if he starts to panic, please let us know! I do have one question though…maybe you can answer it for me?" The doctor stopped. Erik shrugged.

"I'll do the best I can" he said

"Do you know if this has happened before? Or rather…do you know why he tried to kill himself? Was that even his intention?" the doctor asked.

"We…"Erik began to say. _don't tell him you caused it! Wait until Curtis wakes up! _he thought to himself. "I'm not really too sure what happened to be honest. He was fine this morning when I left to go to the store for something" he lied. He would rather go and be able to talk to Curtis, and have Curtis kick him out of his life forever, over some doctor who never even met the two of them.

"Now were you just visiting him or…" the doctor trailed off.

"No. Actually, we share the same place, I moved in with him earlier last year*" Erik replied.

"Ah. Roommates" the doctor said. Erik simply nodded.

"Alright, just be calm with him, and if everything goes alright, he should be able to be released by the end of the week" the doctor said.

"Oh…okay" Erik said. The doctor opened the bedroom door and led Erik into the room. Erik made his was over to the chair closest to the bed as the doctor shut the door on his way out. Erik sat down next to the bed. He noticed that Curtis was still sleeping as he took one of Curtis's hands in both of his. Erik breathed deeply. He tried hard not to cry. "I…Curtis…" Erik felt his words get stuck in his throat like peanut butter. Erik tried to keep himself maintained. He couldn't break down. Not here, not after all of this. Erik could feel the tears forming in his eyes. Try as he might, he couldn't hold the tears back any longer. "Curtis I'm so sorry" Erik gave up, he began to sob. He put his head down on the bed. He couldn't hold his feelings back anymore. He didn't even want to try. How could he be so blind to Curtis? How could have missed all the signs? Sure, Curtis didn't point blank come out and tell him that he liked him, but how could he have missed the signs? It didn't matter now. Erik continued to cry, he didn't care if anybody saw him or not.

_*Beep…beep…beep… _

Light enters, blurred vision, then clarity. Unfamiliar surroundings…this isn't his bedroom…this isn't home. He can't remember a bit of the past twenty four hours…

"Erik?" he whispered. "Why are you crying?" he was confused. Why was Erik upset?

"Curtis?" Erik asked in a shocked tone. He lifted his head up. Curtis looked up at him blearily

"Why are you crying?" Curtis asked again in a small tone. He slowly lifted a hand to Erik's cheek. That's when Curtis noticed the bandages wrapped around his wrist. He looked over to the other wrist. It was wrapped in a bandage too. Erik put a hand over Curtis's hand. "Erik, What happened?" Curtis asked.

"You mean, you don't remember?" Erik asked. Curtis shook his head.

"I remember that we got into a fight yesterday morning a little while after breakfast…and I remember you taking off…" Curtis said, speaking a little louder.

"Anything else?" Erik asked "Anything at all?". Curtis scrunched up his face in thought.

"The only other thing I remember is after you left, I went to my room and started throwing things. I also remember that I turned on some music…." Curtis stopped talking for a moment as a thought hit him. "Erik…Did I…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Erik sighed heavily.

"Yes. Curtis…you tried to kill yourself. We got into a fight, and I stormed out on you" Erik said. "I came back a while later. I wanted to talk to you, try to work things out, but when I got home, I found you in a pool of blood in your bathroom" Erik stopped talking for a moment. "I tried to call the ambulance, but the phone died, and I drove you here as a last resort. The doctors took you to the E.R. and took care of you, while I just parked the car…" Erik trailed off for a moment before he went to talking again. "At least a good four hours passed since I brought you in and now here we are…." Erik finished talking. Things were quiet for a long time.

"Where do we go from here?" Curtis asked. Erik looked at him.

"Here" he said, and without a second thought he leaned over carefully and kissed Curtis on the lips. After a minute, he pulled himself away from Curtis.

"So does that mean…." Curtis trailed off, unsure of exactly what it meant.

"It means this, Curtis I love you. I was wrong to be such an asshole to you, and I was stupid for not seeing it sooner. You're the nicest, most caring guy I've ever met" Erik told him. Curtis looked at him with surprise in his eyes.

"Really? Then…why did you make it seem like you didn't want to be with me? Why did you make it seem like you only wanted to be with Jace?" Curtis asked. Erik sighed.

"Curtis, I didn't want to date Jace. I mean sure, when I first met her, I thought she was pretty and I thought she was a really nice girl, and you know what? I still think she is pretty, and I like her. As a friend. As someone to talk to. As someone to hang out with. But I don't love her. I love you. I don't care if it takes me the rest of my life to prove it to you, but I will make you believe me someway, somehow. I love you" Erik said again.

"I love you too" Curtis said as he reached out and hugged Erik tightly.

"Wait" Erik said, as he lightly pushed Curtis away from him. "Scoot over" he said. Curtis did as he was instructed and moved farther to the right of the bed. Erik climbed up onto the bed "Now, come here" He told him. Erik took Curtis in his arms and they held each other in a warm embrace. After a few minutes passed they situated themselves a little bit more comfortably on the bed. Within a few minutes, they were asleep in each other's arms

Epilogue: One Year Later.

"Alright everybody. Thank you all so much for coming to the show, We hope you all had a fantastic time here tonight! We'll be having a meet and greet over at the local Denny's, and we'll take any pictures or autographs over behind the stage as soon as we're done putting away our instruments!" Curtis exclaimed happily as he picked up his guitar. Erik waved to the fans and grabbed his keyboard, together they carried their instruments into the back room.

"That was a great show tonight!" Erik said

"I know! It was amazing! We were kick-ass tonight!" Curtis exclaimed. Erik began to pack up his Korg MS-2000 into it's case. A thought hit him.

"Hey Curtis?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Curtis asked in reply.

"Do you know what today is?" Erik asked. Curtis thought for a moment. He finished putting his guitar in it's case and went over to his coat, he grabbed his phone and checked the calendar.

"Has it really been a year already?" Curtis asked in a surprised tone. Erik nodded.

"Yeah. It's our one year anniversary today*" Erik said. Curtis looked at him in surprise.

"Wow. Time sure flies by when your having fun, doesn't it?" Curtis asked in a chipper tone.

"Sure does" Erik said.

"I guess us starting Creature Feature* after we decided to move into that house together really improved our love life, huh?" Curtis asked. Erik walked over to him and wrapped his arms around Curtis's shoulders.

"I guess so" He laughed as he kissed Curtis happily. They hugged each other once more before Curtis began to walk toward the door. "Hey Curtis, could you wait just a second? I have something for you" Erik said.

"Oh yeah, sure. I didn't know we were getting each other gif-" Curtis stopped talking. Erik was kneeled down on one knee in front of him. A small box in his hands. Curtis gasped.

"Curtis, When I had nothing, you gave me everything. When I needed a friend, you showed up in my life. My world was dark until I met you. It's like you said, I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. Curtis, because of you, my nightmares have turned into dreams. Dreams about me spending the rest of my life with you. So…Curtis, I have to know… will you marry me?" Erik asked as he opened the small box to reveal a simple gold ring. Curtis was taken aback in shock. Erik waited a few seconds. "Well, Curtis? I kind of need an answer" he smirked.

"Yes! Erik! Yes! I will marry you!" he exclaimed happily. Erik took the ring out of the box and put it on Curtis's ring finger, then he stood up.

"Then what was the delay for?" Erik asked.

"I was just wondering what took you so long to ask me!" Curtis smiled as hugged Erik tightly.

"Well, we still have fans to entertain, so let's go!" Erik said as he took Curtis's hand in his, and together they made their way out into the crowd.

The End.


End file.
